A guide to the Mount's Bay and the Land's End; comprehending the topography, botany, agriculture, fisheries, antiquities, mining, mineralogy and geology of western Cornwall

•9

R. L. JACK.

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V-

A

. N 0

IM^©

GUIDE

TO THE

M O U N T'S B A Y

AND THE

LAND'S END;

COMPREHENDING THE

TOPOGRAPHY, BOTANY, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES,

ANTIQUITIES, MINING, MINERALOGY, AND

GEOLOGY OF

WESTERN CORNWALL.

A NEW EDITION.

TO WHICH IS ADDED, FOR THE INFORMATION OF INVALIDS,

A DIALOGUE ON THE PECULIAR ADVANTAGES OF THE CLIM ATE<-

OF PENZANCE, DEVONSHIRE, AND THE SOUTHERN

PARTS OF EUROPE.

BY A PHYSICIAN.

" Auditque suis tria littora canipis."

LONDON :

PRINTED FOR THOMAS AND GEORGE UNDERWOOD,
32j FLEET-STREET ;

AND SOLD BY T. VIGURS, PENZANCE.
1828.

TO

THE VICE PATRONS, PRESIDENT,

VICE PRESIDENTS,
AND MEMBERS

OF

d&oto&ical ^ocietr of Cornwall,

THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED,
AS A HUMBLE, YET SINCERE TRIBUTE OF RESPECT,

FOR THE ZEAL AND LIBERALITY WITH WHICH THEY CONTINUE
TO UPHOLD

AN INSTITUTION

" WHICH HAS RENDERED THEIR HOME THE SCHOOL OF
SCIENCE,

AND THEIR NATIVE RICHES INCREASING SOURCES
OF PROSPERITY."

2091 04 G

TO THE READER.

THIS little volume has been republished, at
the earnest solicitation of numerous friends and
applicants, and with such additions and improve-
ments as the present extended state of information
appeared to render necessary. In obeying this
call, the author trusts that he may, in some
degree, remove the prejudice to which the care-
lessness of his provincial compositor must, on
the former occasion, have exposed the work.

Since the publication of the first Edition,
PBNZANCE, and the District of the Mount's Bay,
have become objects of greatly increased interest;
the successful establishment of the Geological
Society, — the erection of commodious Sea Baths,

— the growing confidence of the Public, and of

v

a

vi To the Render.

the medical profession, in the superior mildness
of the climate, — and the general amelioration of
every thing connected with the wants and com-
forts of a winter residence, have powerfully
operated in augmenting the influx of strangers
and invalids, into this formerly obscure, and
comparatively neglected district. Such consider-
ations, it will be acknowledged, were quite suf-
ficient to sanction the propriety and expediency
of the present undertaking, but the author must
in candour allow, that they would scarcely have
prevailed, had not another powerful motive been
in silent but effectual co-operation — the "Antiques
vestigia Flammce" — a secret lingering after the
pursuits of Geology have, for once at least, sedu-
ced him from a resolution he had formed on
quitting Cornwall, — that of abandoning a science
which can never be pursued except with enthu-
siasm ; but which, from its direction and tendency,
is wholly incompatible with the duties of an
anxious and laborious profession.

As the work is calculated for the guidance of
those who may seek the shores of the Mount's
Bay, for its genial atmosphere, the introduction

To the Reader. vii

of some general observations upon the subject
of Climate, appeared essentially necessary. For
this purpose, the form of a Dialogue has been
preferred to that of a Didactic essay ; by which
much circumlocution is avoided, while the only
interesting parts of the question are thus made
to appear in a more prominent and popular point
of view.

The Cornish Dialogue, introduced in the
Appendix, for the sake of illustrating the pro-
vincial Dialect, has been composed after the
model of the well known " Tim Bobbin" which
was written for the accomplishment of the same
object, with reference to Lancashire. From the
direction in which it came into the hands of the
author, he is inclined to consider it as an hither-
to unpublished production of the celebrated Dr.
Walcott. VALETE.

CONTENTS.

OF THE MOUNT'S BAY, AND THE LAND's END
DISTRICT.

(Page 1.)

THE Mo UN r's BA Y — Its Topography and Scenery, 1 . —
Northern Shores, their aspect cheerless but interest-
ing, 3. — Minerals and Antiquities, 4. — The Climate
of Mount's Bay, 5. — Meteorological Records, 5. —
Vegetation, 6. — Tender Exotics flourish in the open
air, 7. — Proofs of superior mildness from the animal
kingdom, 9. — Coolness of the Summer, 10. — Rain;
Storms, 11. — Hurricane of 1817, 14. — Encroach-
ments of the Sea, 16. — The Bay formerly a wood-
land, 17. — Causes oftheSea's inundation, 1 8. — Rapid
decomposition of the Cornish hills, 19. — PENZANCE —
an eligible residence, 22. — Its situation most beauti-
ful.— Extraordinary fertility of the neighbouring
lands, 23. — Corporation — Pier — Chapel — Meeting
Houses, 24. — Penzance a Coinage Town, 25. — Public
Dispensary, 25. — ROYAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
CORNWALL, 26. — Its Cabinet of Minerals, 27. —

x Contents.

Laboratory, 29. — Accidents from explosion in Mines
prevented by the scientific efforts of the Society, 30. —
Miner alogical Collection of Joseph Carne, Esq. 31. —
Penwith Agricultural Society, 32. — Penzance Mar-
ket, 33. — Wildfowl and fish abundant and cheap, —
Newlyn Fish-women remarkable for their beauty,
33. — PUBLIC HOT AND COLD SEA BATHS, 34. —
Beautiful prospect from the waiting room, 35. —
Packet to Stilly, 35. — indent Customs — Festivities
at Midsummer, 36. — Penzance remarkable in his-
tory from having been burnt by the Spaniards, 38. —
Tobacco first smoked in this town, 39. — The birth
place of Sir Humphry Davy, 40. — LIST OF INDIGE-
NOUS PLANTS OF WESTERN CORNWALL, 41, $c.

EXCURSION I.

(Page 45)
TO SAINT MICHAEL'S MOUNT.

An object of the very first interest — Excursion by
water — By land, 45. — The Eastern Green celebrated
as the habitat of some rare plants, 46. — MARAZION,
or MA RKET JEW, 47. — Its origin and Charter, 47. —
Chapel Rock, 48. — ARRIVAL AT SAINT MICHAEL'S
MOUNT, 49. — Conical form of the hill — Its dimen-
sions—Town at its base— The Pier — Interesting as
a geological object, 50. — Why — Its scenery most
magnificent — Geological structure, 51. — Militates
against the Wernerian doctrines — De Luc's impro-
bable explanation, 51. — Dr. Berger's gratuitous
assumption, 52. — Plutonian views, 52. — Western

Contents. x'i

base of Hie Mount — Beds of Granite, 53. — Quartz
veins — Interesting contents of the veins, 55. — Finite
discovered in this spot, 55. — Other minerals, 56. —
Lodes of Tin and Copper — Remains of a Tin Mine
— Feins of Mica, 57 — The Tamarisk, 57. — A 'seen! to
the Castle, 57. — Ancient Fortifications — The Chcvy-
chace room, 58. — The Chapel, 59. — Mysterious dis-
covery in the Chapel, 59. — More Discoveries — Ascent
to the top of the tower — Prospect hence of the grand-
est description, 60. — Saint Michael's Chair — Its ori-
gin and supposed mystic powers-^ A remnant of
Monkish fable, 61. — The modern Apartments, 62. —
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HILL — Formerly
cloathed with wood — Its old Cornish appellation, 62.
— Once at a distance from the sea, 63. — ECCLESIAS-
TICAL HISTORY — Monkish Legends of the vision
of Saint Michael, 63. — Saint Keyne's Pilgrimage to
the Mount in the fifth century, 64. — Ihe Confessor's
Endowment, 65. — Ancient instrument A.D. 1070
found amongst its registers, 65 — Annexed to a Nor-
man Priory at the Conquest, 66. — The Nunnery —
Its establishment broken up — The connection of the
Priory with Normandy destroyed, 67. — Granted by
Henry the Sixth to King's College Cambridge, 67. —
Transferred by Edward IV. to the Nunnery ofSion
in Middlesex, 68. — Bestowed upon Lord Arundel at
the Reformation, 68. — //* PRIVATE HISTORY con-
tinued, 69. MILITARY HISTORY. — Pomeroy's

Treachery — Monks expelled — Monks restored, 70. —
The Mount is again reduced by the Earl of Oxford,
71 j — who in his turn is compelled to surrender to the
forces of Edward the Fourth, 71. — The Lady

xi i Contents.

Catherine Gordon., wife ofPerkin Warbeck, fiies to
the Mount for safety , 71. — Besieged by the Cornish
rebels in the reign of Edward VI, 71. — Reduced by
Colonel Hammond during the Civil war of Charles
the First, 72. — The Mount supposed by Sir Christopher
Hawkins andDr.Maton to be the ICTII ofDiodorus
Siculus, 73.

EXCURSION II.

(Page 74)
TO THE LAND's END, LOGAN ROCK, &c.

Intermediate objects zcorthy of notice, 74. — Castle Hor-
neck, 75. — Rose Hill — Trereiffe, 76. — The country
wild but susceptible of cultivation, 77. — Furze —
Boulders of Granite ', 77. — Capable of numerous ap-
plications in rural (economy, 78. — Cornish Granite,
(provincially, Grovtan), when in a state of decomposi-
tion is used as a manure, 79. — Theory oj its operation,
79. — Form of the Felspar crystals, 79. — State of
Agriculture — The Farm of John Scobcll, Esq. at
Leha, 80. — ArishMows, 81. — Ancient Stone Crosses,
81. — Druidical Circle atBoscawenlln, 81. — Opinions
concerning the origin of such circles, 82. — Chapel
Enny, and Us mystic well, 82. — Caerbran Round,
83. — Other Hill Castles, 84. — Chapel Cam Bre —
Its or/gin, 84. — Commands a very extensive view,
85. — Sennan Church-toicn — The First and Last Inn
in England, 85. — The Village of Mayon or Mean,
85. — Table Mean the vague tradition concerning, 86.
— THE LAND'S END, 86. — A Spot of great geological

Contents. xiii

interest^ 87. — Grotesque appearance of its granitic
rocks, 87. — The firmed Knight, Irish Lady, and
Dr. Johnson's Head, 88. — Cape Cornwall, and Whit-
sand Bay, 88. — Historical recollections, 88. — The
Long-Ships Light-house, 89. — Tradition of the
Lioness, 91.— The Wolf rock, 91.— THE SCILLY
ISLANDS, 92. — Ancient Accounts — Six of the Islets
only inhabited, 92. — Saint Agnes, 93. — The Light-
house, 93. — Civil Government of the Islands, 93. —
Present inhabitants all new comers, 94. — A robust
and healthy race, 94. — Their employment, 96. —
Experience great distress, 96. — Curious fact with
respect to the migration of the Woodcock, 98. —
Climate undGeology, 99. — RETURN TO THELAND'S
END — Fine rock Scenery at the Cape near the Signal
Station, 101. — Tol Pedn Penwith, 102. — Cornish
Chough — A Cliff Castle, 102- — Castle Treryn —
Stupendous Rock Scenery — TIIE LOGAN ROCK, 103.
Its weight, 103. — How and whence it came, 104. —
A natural production, 104. — Its appearance easily
reconciled with the known laws of decomposition, 105.
— Used probably by the Druids as an engine of
superstition, 105. — Plants — Geological phenomena,
106. — Rare Shells to be found in Treryn Cove, 107.
— SAINT BURYAN, once the seat of a College of
Augustine Canons, 108. — Church Tower commands
a very extensive prospect — Remarkable ancient Mo-
nument in the church, 109. — Ancient Crosses, 110. —
The Deanery, 111. — The supposed Sanctuary, 111.
Return to Penzance by a circuitous route, through
the parish of Saint Paul, 111 . — Boskenna, the ro-
mantic seat of John Puynter, Esq. 112. — A Druidicul

xiv Cuntcnls.

circle, called the Merry Maidens, 112. — Sepulchral
Stones called the Pipers, 113. — Cam Boscazeen,
Pensile Stone at, 113. — Trove or Trezsoof, the re-
mains of a triple entrenchment at, 113. — The romantic
valley of Lemorna, 113. — Kerris, supposed Druidical
monument at, 114. — PAUL CHURCH, 114. — Epitaph
of Dolly Pentreath, 115. — Mousehole and Neiclyn,
Colonies of Fishermen, 116. — Geological phenomena,
117.

EXCURSION ill.
(Page 119)

TO BOTALLACK MINE; CAPE CORNWALL; AND THE
MINING DISTRICT OF SAINT JUST.

Plan of the excursion, 119. — Nanccalverne, the seat of
John Scobell,Esq. — Poltair, of Edward Scobell, Esq.
— and Trengwainton, of Sir Rose Price, Bart. 119.
— Original Paintings by Opie, 120. — Village of
Madron, 120.— Madron Well and Baptistry, An-
cient Superstitions attached to it, 121. — Lanyon
Cromlech (represented in the title page of this work)
known by the name of the Giant's Quoit, 122. —
Its supposed origin, 123. — Men-an-Tol, 124. — Men
Skryfa, or the Inscribed Stone, 125. — Chun Castle,
126. — Stamping Mills, Burning Houses, or Roasting
Furnaces, 127. — Cavern at Pendeen, 126. — Pendeen
Cone, 128. — Geological phenomena, 128. — The Gur-
nard's head, 129. — Minerals to be found in this dis-
trict, 130. — Axinite at Trewellard — Prehnite — Stil-
bilc — Mesotype, 131. — THE CROWN ENGIKE OF

Contents. x v"

BOTALIACK — Extraordinary Scenery of the spot,
132. — Descent to the Engine, 133. — The workings
of the Mine extend under the bed of the Atlantic
ocean, 133. — Mineralogical observations, 134. —
CAPE CORNWALL, 136. — Little Sounds Mine, 136.
— Its workings under the sea, 137. — Curious Stalac-
tites found there, 138. — CARAGLOSE HEAD, a spot
well worthy the stranger's notice, 138. — Portnanvon
Cove, 139. — SAINT JUST CHURCH TOWN, 139. —
Ancient Amphitheatre, where Tournaments are held
at this very day, 140. — Botallack circles, 140. —
Antiquarian speculations, 141.

EXCURSION IV.

(Page 143)
TO SAINT IVES, HAYLE, HUEL ALFRED, &c.

Embowered Village of Gulval — Kenegie the seat of
J. A. Harris Arundel, Esq. — Rosmorran, the retired
cottage of George John, Esq. 143. — Ascent to the
great Granite ridge, 143. — Castle an Dinas, 144. — •
Atmospheric Phenomenon, 144. — SAINT IVES, 145.
— THE PILCHARD FISHERY. — Confusion and bustle
which are occasioned on the appearance of a shoal,
146. — Natural History of the Pilchard, 147. —
Period of its appearance, 148. — Hots discovered by
the Huer, 149. — Necessary outfit for the fishery,
149. — The Great Net, or Slop Seine — How shot,
150. — The quantity offish usually secured — Tuck-
ing, a beautiful sight, 152. — Driving Nets, 153. — •

xvi Contents.

Fish brought to the cellars and cured — lying in bulk,
153. — Packed in hogsheads, headed up, and ex-
ported, 154. — The great importance of this fishery to
the county, 155. — Refuse fish used as manure, 155.
— Their fertilizing powers increased by lime, 156. —
THE HERRING FISHERY, 156. — Tregenna Castle,
the seat of Samuel Stephens, Esq. — KniWs Mauso-
leum, 157. — Quinquennial Games instituted, 158. —
Hayle Sands— The Port of Hayk, 1 59.— Desolate
appearance of the district, 161. — Sand-flood, 162. —
RECENT FORMATION OF SANDSTONE, 163. — Inves-
tigation of the causes rchich have operated in con-
solidating the sand, 166. — Huel Alfred Copper-mine,
169. — The Herland Mines, 170.— Saint Erth —
Trevethoe, 171. — Tin Smelting, 173. — Ludgvan
Church — The tomb of the venerable and learned Dr.
Borlase, 174.

EXCURSION V.

176.)

TO REDRUTH, AND THE MINING DISTRICTS IN ITS
VICINITY.

The country uninteresting to the traveller in search of
the picturesque, but affording a rich and instructive
field of Mineralogical inquiry , 176. — Antiquity of the
Cornish Tin Trade, 177. — Stannary Courts — Copper
Ore of comparatively modern discovery, 178. — Lead,
Cobalt, and Silver ores, 180. — Average width of the
metalliferous veins — Depth of the principal mines,

Contents. xvfi

181. — North and South veins, or Cross Courses, 181.
— Heaves of the Lodes — A remarkable instance in
Huel Peever, 1 82. — Costeening, the meaning of the
term — METHOD OF WORKING THE CORNISU
MINES, 183. — Blasting the rock with gunpowder,
186. — DESCENT INTO A MINE, 186. — Interior of a
Mine, 187. — Temperature of Mines, 189. — Mines
considered as property, 190. — Various processes by
which the ore is rendered marketable, 191. — Spoiling,
1 9 1 . — Stamping, 1 92. — Dressing, 193. — Vanning,
194. — Burning, 194. — The Standard Barrow, 195.
— Names of Mines, whence derived, 196. — Number
of Mines, 196. — STREAM WORKS, 197. — Gold found
there, 197. — Clowance, the seat of Sir John St. Aubyn
— Pendarves, the seat of E. W. W. Pendarves, Esq.
— TehidyPark, the mansion of Lord de Dunstanmlle,
198. — DOLCOATII COPPER MINE, 198. — COOK'S
KITCHEN, 199. — REDRUTH — The Great Steam
Engine at Chacewater, 200. — The Consolidated
Mines— Huel Unity — Poldice, 202. — Hints to the
Collectors of Cornish Minerals, 202. — Mineralogical
Cabinets — That in the possession of Mr. Rashleigh,
203. — Of Mr. Williams' s Collection, 206.— Saint
Agnes, 208. — CARNBREH HILL — The supposed
grand centre ofDruidical worship, 209. — Imaginary
monuments of the Druids — Their true nature de-
veltped, 209. — C le av c Ian flite found in the porphyritic
granite on the summit of the hill, 212. — Carn-brch
Castle, 213.

x\iii Contents.

EXCURSION VI.

(Page 214.)
TO KYNANCE COVE AND THE LIZARD POINT.

fundamental Rocks of the Lizard Peninsula, 215. —
Alternate beds of Slate and Greenstone at Marazion
—CuddenPoint — Acton Castle — Pengerszeick Castle,
216. — Tregoning, Godolphin, and Breage Hills, 217.
->-~Huel For, a great Tin Mine, 218. — Portleven
Harbour — HELSTON, 219. — Its Borough — The
ancient and singular festival of the Furry commemo-
rated in this tozcn, 210. — The Furry-day Tune, 222.
— Penrose, the seat of John Rogers, Esq. 223. —
The Loe Pool, an exsensivefrtih-water lake, 224. —
Interior of the Lizard Peninsula, 225. — Gunwalloe
Cove — Bolerium — Mullion Cove — Geology of this
line of Coast, 226. — Serpentine Formation — Goon hilly
Dozens— Erica Fagans, 227. — SOAP ROCK, 228. —
Copper found in this district, 229. — KYNANCE CorE
— Asparagus Island — The Devil's Bellows, 229. —
Explanation of the phenomenon, 230. — LIZARD
LiGnr-nousES, 231. — Geology of the Eastern Coast
of the Peninsula, 232. — Frying Pan Rocks near
Cadgwith, 233. — Diallage Rock — Mr. Majendie's
researches in this district, 233. — Coverack Cove, a
spot of the highest geological interest, 234. — Professor
Sedgwick's Observations thereon, 235. — Tregomcell
Mill, tha habitat of Menacchanite or Gregorite, 236.
— CONCLUDING REMARKS, 237.

Contents. xix

APPENDIX.
PART I.

A Dialogue, between Dr. A. a Physician, and
Mr. B. an Invalid, on the comparative merits
of different Climates, as places of Winter resi-
dence p. 239

APPENDIX.
PART II.

An Account of the First celebration of the Knillian

Games at Saint Ives p. 260

A Cornish Dialogue 267

Cam Breh — An Ode hitherto unpublished, by Dr.
Watcot .. .271

A GUIDE

MOUNT'S BAY

THE LAND'S END.

INTRODUCTION.

Of the Mount's Bay, and the Land's End District.

AT the most western extremity, and in the
lowest latitude of Great Britain, is situated this
delightful and justly celebrated Bay. It is bound-
ed by an irregularly curved outline of many miles
in extent, the extreme points of which constitute
the well known promontory of the " Lizard" and
the singular head-land, " Tol-Pedn-Penwith^
near the " Land's End"

From the Lizard, the shores pass northward
and westward, and gradually losing, as they
proceed, their harsh and untamed features, swell

A

% Mount's Bay — Scenery*

into sloping sweeps of richly cultivated land,
and into hills glowing with the freshest verdure.
As the coast advances, and at the same time
spreads itself southward, it unites to its luxuriant
richness a bolder character, and, rising like a
vast amphitheatre, it opposes a barrier to western
storms, while it presents its undulating bosom to
the sun, and collecting his rays, pours them
again with multiplied effect, upon every part
of the surrounding country. The shores now
pass westward, and extend to the Land's Endy
in their approach to which they become more
rocky and precipitous, and occasionally exhibit
some of the finest cliff scenery in the island,
displaying by splendid natural sections the exact
structure and relations of the rocks of which the
country is composed.

The western shores are sprinkled with pictu-
turesque villages, churches, cottages, and villas;
and near the eastern margin of the bay, a pile of
rocks, supporting a venerable chapel on its sum-
mit, starts abruptly from the waves, and pre-
sents an appearance of a most singular and beau-
tiful description — this is Saint Michael's Mount,
an eminence eq.ually celebrated in the works of
the poet, the naturalist, the antiquary, and the
historian.

Northern Coast. 3

If we pursue the coast, and, turning round the
western extremity of our island, trace its outline
as it proceeds northerly, and then easterly to the
Bay of Saint Ives, a very different country pre-
sents itself, instead of the undulating curves, and
luxuriant herbage of the southern shores, the
land is generally high, — the vallies short, narrow,
and quick of descent, and the whole landscape
affords a scene of incomparable cheerlessness ;
on the summit of almost every hill the granite is
to be seen protruding its rugged forms in the
most fantastic shapes, while the neighbouring
ground is frequently covered for some distance
with its disjointed and gigantic fragments, tum-
bled together in magnificent confusion ; scarcely
a shrub is seen to diversify the waste, and the
traveller who undertakes to explore the more
desolate parts of the district, will feel as if he
were walking over the ruins of the globe, and
were the only being who had survived the general
wreck ; and yet Ulysses was not more attached
to his Ithaca, than is the Cornish peasant to his
wild and cheerless dwelling.

" Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms,
" And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms."

Nor let the intelligent tourist despair of amuse-
ment, for he will find much to interest, much to
A 2

4 Minerals and Antiquities.

delight him. There is not perhaps a district in
Great Britain which presents greater attractions
to the mineralogist or geologist ; and there is
certainly not one which, in so small a compass,
has produced so many species of earthy and me-
tallic minerals, or which displays so many geolo-
gical varieties. At the same time the antiquarian
may here occupy himself with the examination of
the rude relics of antiquity, which lie scattered
on all sides — nothing is more pleasing than that
sacred enthusiasm which is kindled in the mind
by the contemplation of the faded monuments of
past ages, and surely no spot was ever more con-
genial to such sensations. But to return from
the digression.

THE CLIMATE of Mount's Bay is the circum-
stance which has principally contributed to its
celebrity, and is that which renders its shores so
beneficial to invalids. Its seasons have been
aptly compared to the neap tides, which neither
ebb nor flow with energy ; for, notwithstanding
its southern latitude, the summer is never sultry,
while the rigour of winter is so ameliorated that
thick ice* is rarely seen ; frost, if it occurs, is but

* Skaiting, as an amusement, is entirely unknown among the
young men of Penzance. The marsh between this place and
Marazion, which is generally overflowed in the winter season, and
which offers, when frozen, a very fair field for the skaiter, has not

Climate of Mount's Bay. 5

of a few hours duration; and the snow storms
which, coming from the north and east, bury the
fields of every other part of England, are gene-
rally exhausted before they reach this favoured
spot, or their last sprinkling is dissolved by the
warm breezes which play around its shores.

The records lately collated and published by
Dr. Forbes, from the meteorological journals of
Messrs. Giddy, eminent surgeons at Penzance,
afford abundant proof that this neighbourhood
enjoys a mean summer temperature under, and
a mean winter temperature greatly above, the
mean of places similarly situated as to latitude,
but differing in the latter being placed at a dis-
tance from the sea ; for the mass of water held in
the vast basin of the ocean preserves a far more
even temperature than the atmosphere, and is
constantly at work to maintain some degree of
equilibrium in the warmth of the air; so that hi
the summer it carries off a portion of the caloric
from it, while in the winter it restores a part of
that which it contains.*

been more than four times during the last thirty years sufficiently
solidified to admit of that diversion, viz. in the years 1788, 1794,
1814, and 1819.

* It is this fact that permits the cultivation of many species of
plants in the open ground about London, which in the vicinity of
Paris will not live without a green-house.

6 Mildness of its Winter.

The same registers have, moreover, recorded a
fact with respect to the Penzance climate which
renders it still more acceptable to the invalid, —
the comparatively small annual, monthly, and
daily range of its temperature. Nor are the in-
dications of the thermometer the only test upon
which we need rely, — the productions of nature
will furnish striking elucidations, and amply con-
firm the justness of our meteorological observa-
tions. From the vegetable kingdom we derive
conclusive evidence of the mildness of our win-
ter, since all green-house plants may be preserved
with far less care and attendance than in any
other part of England ; myrtles * and geraniums,
even of the tenderest kind, and many other ex-
otics, are here constantly exposed during the win-
ter, and yet they flower most luxuriantly in the
summer. The Hydrangea attains an immense
size in our shrubberies, as does also the Verbena
Triphylla. The great American aloe (Agave
Americana)t has flowered in the open air at
Mousehole, at Tehidy park, and in the Scilly

* These plants thrive in the open air, and commonly attain a
height often or twelve feet; they may be seen trained on the front
of some of the houses in Penzance to double that height. A suffi-
cient quantity of cuttings was obtained from a tree of this descrip-
tion, covering one of the houses, in the course of six weeks, to sup-
ply the oven with fuel for three months !

Vegetation.

7

islands. To these we may add a long Jist * of
tender exotics, all of which are flourishing in the
neighbourhood of Penzance, and it has been justly
remarked that were ornamental horticulture to
become an object of attention in this neighbour-
hood, as it is in many other parts of England,
this list might be very considerably extended.
Amomgst the rare indigenous plants of this dis-
trict, the Sibthorpia Europcea may be particu-
larised as affording a remarkable proof of the

drawn up by the Rev. W. T. Bree,

* The following catalogue was
of Allesley, Warwickshire, viz.
Amaryllis Vittata.
Arum Colocasia.
Azalea Indica.
Buddlcea Globosa.
Bocconia Cordata.
Coronilla Glauca, &c.
Calla JEthiopica.
Cistus Salvifolius.
Chrysanthemum Indicum
Camellia Japonica.
Cyclamen Persicum.
Canna Indica.
Cheiranthus Tristis.
Dahlia (many varieties.)
Daphne Indica.
Eucomis Striata.
Fuchsia Coccinea.
Geranium (several species of

the African G.)
Hypericum Coris.

Crispum

Balearicum.

Hydrangea Decolor.
Haustonia Coccinea.
Hemerocallis Alba.
Lavandula Viridis.
Lobelia Fulgens.
Myrtus Communis.
Mesembryanthemum Deltoideum
Melianthus Major.
Mimulus Glutitiosus.
Magnolia Tripetala.
Metrosideros Lanceolata.
Olea Fragrans.
Pittosporum Undulatum.
Phylica Ericoides.
Protffia Argentea.
Punica Nana.

Solanum Pseudo-Capsicum.
Teucrium Frutescens.

Marum.

Verbena Triphylla.
Westringia Rosmarinacea.

8 Abundance of vegetable

mildness of our winter. This elegant little plant
when transplanted into the midland counties is
killed even in the most sheltered gardens. Nor
must we pass over unnoticed the more substantial
proofs of the same fact, as furnished by our win-
ter markets, for at a season when pot-herbs of all
kinds are destroyed by frost in the eastern coun-
ties, our tables are regularly supplied in abun-
dance ; * and so little is the progress of vegeta-
tion checked during the months of winter, that
the meadows retain their verdure, and afford even
a considerable supply of grass to the cattle.

Nor is the animal kingdom deficient in proofs
of the congenial mildness of western Cornwall.
We are indebted to the Reverend W. T. Bree, of

* Cabbages are ready for the table as early as February ; Turnips
before the end of March ; Broccoli, against Christmas; Green Peas
are generally ready by the middle of May. But the most remark-
able exception, perhaps, to the ordinary routine of the culinary
calendar is to be found in the growth of the potatoe. It is cus-
tomary for the gardeners in the vicinity of Penzance to raise two
crops in one year. The first being planted in November is gathered
in April, May, and June; the second crop is planted immediately
on taking up the first, and as late as to the middle of July. The
first or spring crop has, in general, no other defence from the cold
of winter than the stable dung used as manure, and it is rarely
injured by the frost! Such is the ordinary practice of the market-
gardener; but Mr. Bolitho of Chyandour, has constantly new pota-
toes at Christmas, and through the whole of January and part of
February, raised in the open garden, with no other shelter than that
afforded by some matting during the coldest nights.

food in Winter. 9

Allesley, Warwickshire, for the following re-
marks, which were communicated by him to Dr.
Forbes of Penzance, and published by that gen-
tleman in his Observations on the Climate of this
neighbourhood.

" One of the most remarkable instances of the
mildness of your climate is the unusually early
appearance of frog's spawn : this I observed at
Gulval on the 8th of January. According to
White's Naturalist's Calendar (which was made
from observations taken in Hampshire, a warm
and early county,) the earliest and latest appear-
ances there specified, are February 28th, and
March 22d. Taking therefore the second week
in March as the average for its appearance, you
should seem, in this instance, to be full two
months earlier than Hampshire."

" In this neighbourhood (near Coventry) I
rarely see any of our species of Swallow, except
perhaps an occasional straggler, before the second
week in April, but in the year 1818 I was not a
little gratified at observing upwards of a score of
Sand Martins, (Ilirundo Riparia), sporting over
the marsh between Gulval and Marazion, on
March 31st. The wind at that time was N. W.
and the thermometer at 50° in the shade at noon.
The Chaffinch (Frittgillu Calebs) I heard, in

10 Coolness of its Summer.

Cornwall, begin to chirp his spring note the last
day of December. With us he is seldom heard
until the beginning of February. The Viper,
(Coluber Benis), a great lover of warmth and
moisture, occurs more frequently in Cornwall
than in the midland counties."

We have already stated that our summers are
as remarkable for coolness, as our winters are de-
sirable for mildness. This circumstance neces-
sarily renders our fruit inferior in flavour to that
which is produced in the inland counties ; indeed
the grape very rarely ripens in the open air, and
the apricot tree seldom affords any fruit, except
in a few favoured spots. The tree of the green-
gage plum is nearly equally unproductive. The
walnut, and the common hazel-nut very seldom
bear fruit. .Apples for the table, however, are
plentiful and good ; and our strawberries may be
considered as possessing a decided superiority.

Why then, it may be asked, should not this
climate be as eligible to invalids as that which
they are generally sent across the Channel to
enjoy ? In reply we will venture to assert, and
without the least fear of being contradicted by
those, whose experience renders them competent
judges, that it is not only equally beneficial, but
far more eligible, unless, indeed, the patient can

Climate — Rain. 11

possess himself of the cap of Fortunatus, to re-
move the difficulties and discomfiture of a con-
tinental journey. But since the present volume
is, in some measure, written for the information
and guidance of those who are seeking a winter's
residence, in pursuit of health, the author has
been induced to subjoin a short essay, in the ap-
pendix, for the purpose of examining the compa-
rative pretentions of the several places to the
reputation for superior mildness and salubrity,
which they have acquired.

From the peninsular situation of Cornwall, and
its proximity to the Atlantic ocean, over which
the wind blows, at least, three-fourths of the
year, the weather is certainly very subject to
rain, and it is found that when other parts of
England suffer from drought, Cornwall has rarely
any reason to complain ; this peculiarity seems
highly congenial to the inhabitants, as well as to
the soil ; a Cornishman never enjoys better health
and spirits than in wet seasons, and there is a
popular adage, that li the land will bear a shower
every day, and two upon a Sunday ;" this, like most
of our popular sayings, although it requires to be
understood with some grains of allowance, is
founded on observation and experience. The
philosophical explanation of the fact is obvious;

12 Its rains not injurious

the shallowness of the soil, and the large propor-
tion of siliceous matter which enters into its com-
position, together with the nature of its rocky
substratum, necessarily render a constant supply
of moisture indispensable to its fertility. And
we here cannot but admire the intelligence dis-
played by Nature in connecting the wants and
necessities of the different parts of Creation with
the power and means of supplying them ; thus in
a primitive country, like Cornwall, where the
soil is constantly greedy of moisture, we perceive
that the rocks, elevated above the surface, solicit
a tribute from every passing cloud ; while in al-
luvial and flat districts, the soil of which is rich,
deep, and retentive of water, the clouds float
undisturbed over the plains, and the country very
commonly enjoys that long and uninterrupted
series of dry weather which is so congenial and
essential to its productions.

It deserves, however, to be noticed, that the
rains of Cornwall are, in general, rather frequent
than heavy.

" Not such as wintry storms on mortals shed
Oppressing life, but lovely, gentle, kind,
And full of every hope, and every joy,
The wish of Nature."

It has been satisfactorily ascertained, by means
of the rain gauge, that the actual quantity of rain

to invalid residents. 13

that falls is rather under the mean of the whole
of England ; and Dr. Borlase observes that " we
have very seldom a day so thoroughly wet, but
that there is some intermission, nor so cloudy,
but that the sun will find a time to shine." This
circumstance may, perhaps, in part depend upon
the narrow, ridgelike form of the peninsula, over
which the winds make a quick, because they have
a short passage, and therefore do not suffer the
clouds to hang long in one place, as they fre-
quently do in other situations; we are, besides,
much indebted to Ireland for this moderation of
the elements ; she may be truly denominated the
Umbrella of Cornwall, for were not the vast body
of clouds, which the winds bring from the Atlan-
tic, attracted and broken by her hills, we should
most probably be deluged with more constant and
excessive rain.

Notwithstanding the supposed moisture of the
Mount's Bay, the air is not less fit for respiration,
nor less beneficial to the valetudinarian, than that
of drier situations. The porous nature of the
shelfy substrntum soon disposes of any excess of
water; so that, after a short cessation of rain,
the invalid may safely venture abroad to enjoy
the delightful walks which surround the bay ; at
the same time, the numerous promontories which

14 Violent Storms.

distinguish this coast, promote a constant circu-
lation of breezes around their extremities, so that
mists seldom linger, and we never experience
those sultry calms, or suffocating fogs, which not
unfrequently infest other parts of our island.

As Cornwall is directly exposed to the expanse
of the Atlantic ocean, lying south-west of it, we
cannot be surprised that the winds, which blow
so generally from that quarter, should occasion-
ally produce very violent storms. Their approach
is frequently predicted by the experienced fisher-
man, from the agitation of the water along shore,
a phenomenon which is called a " ground s&ell ; "
and which is probably occasioned by a storm in
the Atlantic, with the wind west; in which case,
as the storm proceeds eastward, the waves raised
by it will outgo the wind, and reach the eastern
coast long before it. A tremendous instance of
this kind occurred, during the residence of the
author of these pages, on the night of Sunday,
January 19th, 1817. The storm assumed the
character of a hurricane, and acting in conjunc-
tion with a spring tide, impelled the waves with
such fury, that they actually broke over the mast
heads of the vessels which were lying within Pen-
zance harbour, and bore down every thing before
them ; two of the four pillars recently erected

r Hurricane of 1817. 15

for the reception of a light were thrown down,
and several of the foundation stones of the pier
removed. The windows of the bath-house were
demolished, and the whole of its furniture washed
into the sea. The green between Penzance and
Newlyn was torn up, and several boats, lying on
the strand were actually carried into the neigh-
bouring meadows. The towns of Newlyn and
Mousehole suffered corresponding damage, and
several of their houses were washed away. The
road between Marazion and St. Michael's Mount
was torn from its lowest foundation, and stones
of more than a ton in weight, though clamped
together with massy iron, were severed and re-
moved from their situation. The turnpike road
between Penzance and Marazion was, in many
places, buried with sand; and in others, broken
up by the violence of the waves, and covered by
the sea to the depth of from three to five feet.
Had the violence of the storm lasted but a few
hours longer, who will venture to say that the
two channels would not have been united by the
inundation of the low land which constitutes the
isthmus, and the district of the Land's-end been
converted into an island !

The sea is encroaching upon every part of the
Cornish coast. In the memory of many person*

16 Encroachments of the Sea.

still living, the cricketers were unable to throw a
ball across the " Western Green" between Pen-
zance and Newlyn,* which is now not many feet
in breadth, and the grandfather of the present
vicar of Madron is known to have received tithes
from the land under the cliff of Penzance. On
the northern coast we have striking instances of
the sea having made similar inroads. This how-
ever is the natural result of the slow and silent
depredation of the water upon the land; but at a
very remote period we are assured by tradition,
that a considerable part of the present bay, espe-
cially that comprehended within a line drawn
from near Cuddan point on the east side, to
Mousehole on the west, was land covered with
wood, but which, by an awful convulsion and
irruption of the sea, was suddenly swept away.
"If we trace the north-west shore of the bay,
from the Mount westward to Newlyn, the ebb
tide leaves a large space uncovered ; the sea sand
is from one to two or three feet deep ; and under

* Mr. Boase has lately published, in the 2d volume of the Trans-
actions of the Cornish Society, a very interesting letter upon this
subject, (in the possession of Mrs. Ley of Penzance, who is the
present representative of the Daniel family.) It was written, in the
reign of Charles II, to the then proprietor of an estate, which in-
cluded part of the " Western Green ;" and that part is there esti-
mated at thirty-six acres of pasturage !

Sub-marine Forest. 17

this stratum of sand is found a black vegetable
mould, full of woodland detritus, such as the
branches, leaves, and nuts of coppice wood, to-
gether with the roots and trunks of forest trees
of large growth. All these are manifestly indi-
genous ; and, from the freshness and preservation
of some of the remains, the inundation of sand,
as \vell as water, must have been sudden and
simultaneous; and the circumstance of ripe nuts
and leaves remaining together would seem to
shew that the irruption happened in the autumn,
or in the beginning of winter. This vegetable
substratum has been traced seaward as far as the
ebb would permit, and has been found continuous
and of like nature. Another proof of these shores
having been suddenly visited by a tremendous
catastrophe, has been afforded by the nature of
the sand banks constituting the " Eastern," and
<c Western Greens" and which will be found to
be the detritus of disintegrated granite; whereas
the natural sand, which forms the bed of the sea,
is altogether unlike it, being much more comminu-
ted, different in colour, and evidently the result
of pulverised clay-slate:"* but when did this
mighty catastrophe occur, and what were its

* See " A memoir on the submersion of part of the Mount's Bay,
by H. Boase, Esq." in the 2d volume of the Cornish Transactions.

18 Geological convulsions.

causes ? These are questions which are not rea-
dily answered ; the event is so buried in the
depths of antiquity, that nothing certain or satis-
factory can be collected concerning it ; although
it would appear from the concurrent testimony of
Florence of Worcester,* and the Saxon Chronicles,
that a remarkable invasion of the ocean occurred
in November 1099. With respect to the causes
of the phenomenon we are equally uninformed ;
let the geologist examine the appearance of the
coast with attention, and then decide with what
probability De Luc attributed the catastrophe to
a subsidence of the land. It must not, however,
be concealed that many geologists have ques-
tioned the probability of the occurrence alto-
gether, and argue from the appearance of the
coast, " whose rocks beat back the envious siege
of watery Neptune," that no very important
change in the hydrographical outline of the Cor-
nish peninsula can have taken place, during the
present constitution of the earth's surface. If
Saint Michael's Mount be in reality the "

* On the third of the nones of November," cries Florence of Wor-
cester, " the sea comes out upon the shores, and buried towns and men,
very many, oxen and sheep innumerable." While the Saxon Chro-
nicle relates that " this year eke, on Saint Martin's mass day, sprang
up so much the sea flood, and so ntyckle harm did, as no man minded
it ever afore did."

Ruin of the Mountains. 19

of Diodorus Siculus, we have certainly a decisive
proof that no material change has taken place for
the space of eighteen centuries at least ; for the
Historian describes the access to this island pre-
cisely such as it is at the present period — prac-
ticable only at low water for wheel carriages.

Nor is the corroding operation of the other
elements upon the hills of Cornwall less evident
and striking ; no where are the vestiges of degra-
dation more remarkable ; granitic countries usu-
ally present a bold and varied outline, whereas
the aspect of Cornwall, with some few exceptions,
is comparatively tame, and even flat. " / went
into Cornwall," said a geologist of well known
celebrity, " to see an example of a primitive
country; but, instead of an example, I found an
exception" The same observation would apply
to the agricultural character of the county, for
its fertility is much greater than that which
usually occurs in a country composed of primi-
tive rocks.

All that peninsular portion of Cornwall which
is situated to the westward of a line drawn from
the estuary of Hayle on the north, to Cuddan
point on the south, has been distinguished by
the appellation of the Land'e End District. It
is about thirteen miles long from east to west,

B2

20 band's End District.

and five or six miles broad from north to south,
and contains, by superficial admeasurement about
54,000 statute acres. It has been remarked that
the small extent of this district, and its peninsular
character, preclude the existence of rivers of any
magnitude ; its varied and uneven surface, how-
ever, gives it a great profusion of small streams
and rivulets, which add greatly to its value. We
shall take occasion to introduce some remarks on
its agriculture, in our excursion to the Land'a
End.

Pentaitce.

PENZANCE.

HAVING offered a rapid coup d'oeil of the
country we are about to examine, we shall now
conduct the stranger into Penzance,* as being a

* Penzance signifies, in Cornish, Holy-head, i. e. holy headland}
and the town appears to have been so called in consequence of a
small chapel, dedicated to that universal patron of fishermen, Saint
Anthony, having; formerly stood on the projecting point near the
present quay. When it became necessary to adopt arms for the
town, the true origin of its name was forgotten or overlooked, and
the holy head of Saint John emblazoned. It would, however, ap-
pear from the Liber valorum, that Buriton was the old name of

22 Penzance.

town well calculated to afford him an eligible
residence; many of the various objects of interest
are within the range of a morning's ride, and he
will meet with every accommodation that may be
required for the performance of his excursions;
if his pursuit be mineralogy and geology, it is in
this town that he will find others zealously en-
gaged in the study of the same science, from
whom he will readily obtain much local infor-
mation ; while in the collection of the Geological
Society, so liberally opened for the inspection of
every scientific stranger, he will see well defined
specimens illustrative of the districts he may be
desirous of exploring.

The reader of this Guide, therefore, must
thoroughly understand that in the arrangement
of the subsequent " Excursions," the various
objects of interest, to which it directs him, are
described in an order best adapted to the con-
venience of the resident at Penzance.

PENZANCE is the most western market town in
the kingdom ; about ten miles from the land's

Penzance, — a sound which to the ear of the antiquary is full of his-
torical intelligence, for the addition of Bury to the name of a town
signified that it was a town with a castle ; thus, Suriton signified
Bury-town, i. e. the Castle town. Some cellars near the quay are
to this day called the Barbican cellars; thus trsydition points out
the castle to have been upon, or near, the site of the present chapel.

Fertility of its neighbourhood. 23

end, and 282 miles W. S.W. of London. It is
beautifully situated on the north-west shore of
the Mount's Bay, on a declivity jetting into the
sea. The lands in its vicinity having a substratum
of hornblende rock and slate, are not exceeded in
fertility by any soil in the kingdom ; a belt of
land around the town, which consists of about
a thousand acres, producing an annual rent of
rflOjOOO ! The town is well defended by sur-
rounding hills from the fury of Atlantic storms.
It is large and populous, containing more than
six thousand inhabitants. The Corporation* con-
sists of a mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, and
twelve common-council men ; by whose funds,t
unaided by any parliamentary grant, a very com-
modious pier was erected about fifty years ago,

* Penzance was first incorporated in the reign of king James, in
1614; which charter was confirmed by Charles II.

t The history of these funds exhibits a curious instance of the
increase in value which property undergoes, in a series of years,
from the progressive improvements of the district in which it lies.
The revenue of the Corporation, nearly ,£2000 per annum, is de-
rived from an estate which was purchased from one Daniel, in thp
year 1614, for the sum of £3i, and20 shillings a year fee farm rent,
payable out of the same to the vender and his representatives for
ever. This estate is described in the writings to be " a three cor-
ner plot with a timber house (then) lately erected thereon, together
with the tolls, profits, and dues of the fairs, markets, and of the
pier." The increase of its value has arisen from the enlargement
of the market now held on the spot, and from the dues arising from
the improved and extended pier.

2t Penzance. Pier — C/iapel.

and which has lately been considerably extended,
so that it is now more than COO feet in length, and
is the largest pier in Cornwall. It has, more-
over, received the addition of a light which is
displayed every night, from half flood to half
ebb, and is consequently extinguished as soon as
there is less than nine feet of water within the
pier. At high water there is now at Spring tides
22 feet* of water, which is about five feet more
than that at the pier of Saint Michael's Mount.
The expenses incurred by these late improve-
ments are to be paid by a new tariff, established
by an act passed in the year 1817.

The mother church is situated at Madron, but
there is a chapel of ease in the town, dedicated to
Saint Mary, the simple and unassuming spire of
which forms a very interesting object in the bay.

Besides the established church, there are seve-
ral places of religious worship. The Wesleyan
Methodists' chapel, built in the year 1814, is the
most complete and capacious meeting-house in
the county. There are, moreover, appropriate

* We are desirous of recording this fact since it continues to be
erroneously stated in the publication called the " Coasting Pilot,'"
as well as in all charts, to be only 13 feet, as it was before the im-
provements. From the perpetuation of this error the masters of
vessels unacquainted with the place, refuse to credit the pilots,
when informed by them of the depth of the water.

Coinage of Tin. 25

places of worship for the Independents, Baptists,
and Quakers, and a synagogue for the Jews.

Penzance is one of those towns to which the
tinners bring their tin to be "coined" as it is
called, that is, to be assayed and licensed by the
officers of the Duchy, who take off a piece from
the corner* of each block; and if they find it
sufficiently pure, stamp the former with the
Duke's arms. The stranger will be much struck
by the singular sight of many thousand blocks of
Tin, which lie in heaps, like worthless rubbish,
about the street,t each weighing about 320 Ib.
•and may perhaps be worth from j€lS to t620.
The Tin intended for the Mediterranean trade is
here formed into bars, while that designed for
exportation to the East Indies is cast into ingots.

There is a Public Dispensary, supported by the
voluntary contributions of the inhabitants, aided
occasionally by the donations of those invalid
strangers, who, grateful for the reestablishment of
health in themselves, eagerly adopt this mode of
contributing to its restoration in others. Few

* The operation is termed " Coining," not, as is very generally
supposed, from the stamping of the Duke's arms, but from the
cutting off the corner of each block, from the French word com, a
corner. For every cwt. so stamped, the Duke receives four shil-
lings, producing an annual revenue of ,£10,000.

+ Since the first edition, the place of coinage has been changed
from the middle of the town to a large area near the quay.

26 Royal Geological Society.

institutions for the accomplishment of a similar
object, have proved more extensively beneficial ;
and none, we will venture to add, were ever
superintended with more humane attention.

To the scientific visitor, Penzance possesses
an interest of no ordinary degree. In the year
1814, DR. PARIS, who was at that time the resi-
dent physician, succeeded, through the support
of the nobility, gentry, and mine agents of the
county, in establishing a society for the cultiva-
tion and promotion of mineralogical and geologi-
cal science; and, when we consider the immense
advantages of its locality, the ability of its mem*
bers, and the zeal and munificence of its patrons,
we cannot be surprised to find that the short
period of nine years has been sufficient to raise it
to a respectable rank amongst the eminent insti-
tutions of this country. His present Majesty,
having graciously condescended to become its
patron, it is now denominated the ROYAL
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CORNWALL. The
Marquis of Hertford, Lord Warden of the Stan-
naries, and The Right Honourable Lord De
Dunstanville, are its Vice-Patrons, and Davies
Gilbert, Esq. M.P., the President ; while amongst
its officers and members it has enrolled the names
of many individuals of the first rank and science

Its Cabinet of Minerals. 27

in the kingdom. Two volumes of the Society's
Transactions are already given to the public,
from which a fairer estimate may be formed of
the value of its labours, than from any sketch
which the limited pages of this " Guide'"'' could
possibly afford ; we shall, however, for the in-
formation of our scientific readers, present, in
the Appendix, a list of the different memoirs
which each volume contains. The splendid and
extensive series of minerals, already exceeding
four thousand specimens, which are deposited in
an elegant and spacious museum, * offers a most
honourable and durable testimony of the zeal
and talent with which this department has been
conducted; while to the student in mineralogy
it affords a most desirable and solid system of
instruction ; indeed it has already excited such a
spirit of inquiry among the miners, as to have led
to the discovery of several minerals before un-
known in Cornwall.

There is also an economical department, con-

* The rooms originally occupied by the Society, and which are
represented in the vignette at the head of this chapter, becoming
too small to accommodate the growing collection, a capacious and
handsome suite of rooms were erected in the year 1817; to which*
are now attached a public library, and a room for the reception
of newspapers. The former was established in 1818, under the
auspices of Sir Rose Price, Bart, and with the support of above a
hundred subscribers in the neighbourhood.

28 Cabinet of

taming specimens in illustration of the various
changes which the ores of Tin, Copper, &c. un-
dergo in the processes of dressing and smelting.
Models are likewise to be seen of the machinery
which is employed in such operations. The whole
has been admirably arranged under the skilful
direction of the Curator, E. C. Giddy, Esq.

In the geological department of the Museum
are complete series of specimens illustrative of
the serpentine formation of the Lizard, — of the
slate formation of the " Land's End District" —
of the limestone formation of Veryan, and of the
hornblende rocks of St. Cleer near Liskeard.
There is besides an interesting series of " El-
T0«s" * from different levels in many of the prin-
cipal mines of the county, together with a col-
lection of veins of metallic and earthy substances.

Among the earthy minerals, we may particu-
larize, as unusually fine, the specimens of Cal-
cedony, Sodalite, Hauyne, Petalite, Colophonite,
Vesircian, &c. In the metallic department, we
may notice the Carbonate of Lead, Specular Iron,
Arseniale of Iron, the Oxide, Carbonate, Arseniate
and Phosphate of Copper, Native Gold from the
Tin-stream-works of Cornwall, Arsenical Pyrites,

* See a paper " On Elvan Course*" by J. Carne, Esq. in the
first volume of the Royal Geological Socit'ty of Cornwall.

Minerals. 29

Uranite, Urun-ochre, Native Nickel, &c. Here
also may be seen a mineral, hitherto almost un-
known,— a Sub-carburet of Iron ; it was analysed
by that late eminent chemist, the Rev . W. Gregor,
who received it from the hands of the Rev. J.
Rogers of Mawnan. It was found in a vein
about half an inch wide, intersecting either hard
Clay-slate or Graywacke. Among the saline mine-
rals in the cabinet are Glauberite, and Sassoline
or native Boracic acid.

A Laboratory, containing the necessary appa-
ratus for analytical operations, is attached to the
establishment.

In conclusion, we will venture to affirm, that
the advantages and enjoyments which such socie-
ties are calculated to afford are not only obtained
without any expense to the country in which
they are encouraged, but that they actually repay
in wealth and emolument much more than they
require for their support. Had the Cornish
Society been earlier called into existence, we
should never have heard of the most valuable
productions of our country having been thrown
into the sea, nor of their having been used as
materials for the repair of roads, or the construc-
tion of cottages : on the contrary, how many
thousand tons of ore might have been gained? —

SO Accidents from Explosion

how many years of unprofitable but expensive
labour saved ? and how many individual adven-
turers preserved from disappointment, or rescued
from ruin ? Amongst the efforts made by this
Society to improve the theory and art of mining,
through the application of science, not the least
interesting and praiseworthy is that which relates
to the prevention of accidental explosion in the
methods of blasting rocks with gunpowder, by
the introduction of " Safety Instruments"

How little aware is the great mass of the com-
munity at what an expense of human suffering
and misery the ordinary necessaries of civilized
life are obtained ! Few of our readers, we will
venture to say, have ever heard of the dreadful
extent of the accidents which have occurred in
the mines of Cornwall from the use of iron ram-
mers, in the process of charging the rock with
gunpowder, in order to blast it. Hundreds have
been thus sent to an, untimely grave, or, what
perhaps is still worse, have been so mutilated as
to remain blind and helpless objects of misery
for the rest of their days, while their wives and
children have been thus driven, in a state of des-
titution, to the hard necessity of seeking from
charity that pittance which honest industry could
no longer supply. We must refer the reader for

in Mines prevented. SI

a full account of this appalling subject to Dr.
Paris's Memoir, in the first volume of the Society's
Transactions, entitled " On the Accidents which
occur in the Mines of Cornwall, in consequence of
the premature explosion of Gunpowder in blasting-
rocks ; and on the methods to be adopted for pre-
venting it, by the introduction of a Safety Bar,
and an instrument termed the Shifting Cartridge.'1

We earnestly, therefore, entreat the Society to
persevere in those laudable efforts, which have
already ensured for it the respect of the learned,
and the gratitude of the public. — Floreat.

Besides the instructive collection of the Geolo-
gical Society, the splendid cabinet of Joseph Carne,
Esq. may now be seen in this town, for since the
first edition of this " Guide" the Cornish Copper
Company have given up their smelting establish-
ment at Hayle, at which place Mr. Carne for-
merly lived as the resident partner. Among the
principal excellencies of this collection we may
notice Prehnite, in a variety of forms ; Axinite in
the usual forms of that mineral;, Stilbite in flat
four.sided prisms, terminated by pyramids ; Me-
sott/pe radiated ; Garnets in twelve, and twenty-
four sided crystals ; Pintle in six and twelve sided
prisms; Uranite in quadrangular tables with the
angles sometimes truncated, and also in forms

32 Mr. Game's Collection.

much resembling cubes and octohedrons ; Uran-
ochre ; Native Bismuth ; and Specular Iron ore,
little inferior in beauty to that brought from
Elba, — all of which are from Saint Just. From
other parts of Cornwall are Sulphate of Lead
(Vellenoweth Mine) in a variety of forms, more
especially in one resembling an octahedron ;
Grey Sulphuret of Copper (Crenver mine), the
best defined crystals of which are very obtuse
dodecahedrons, and six sided prisms ; in some
specimens the dodecahedron is so placed upon
the summit of a prism as to produce the whim-
sical appearance of a nail, which from its rarity
is sought after by mineral collectors with con-
siderable avidity. Two specimens of rarity also
in this collection are the Yellow, and Grey Sul-
phuret of Copper, in forms approaching that of
Cube ; the latter is pseudomorphous.

The Penwith Agricultural Society holds its
meetings, and distributes its premiums, in this
town. Nothing can be more in place than such
an institution. Geology and Agriculture are
kindred sciences, and it has been truly observed
that there is no district in the British Empire
where the natural relations between the varieties
of soil and the subjacent rocks can be more easily
discovered and traced, or more effectually inves-

Penzance Market. 33

tigated, than in the county of Cornwall ; and no
where can the information which such an enquiry
is capable of affording, be more immediately and
successfully applied for the improvement of waste
lands, and the general advancement of agricultu-
ral science.

The market of Penzance, for the goodness,
variety, and cheapness of its commodities, is cer-
tainly not surpassed by any other in the kingdom ;
to the great quantity of salt usually mixed with
the food of the swine, is perhaps to be attributed
the delicacy and richness of the pork; whilst,
owing to the fine pasturage of the neigbourhood,
the heifer beef is superior, beyond comparison,
to the Scotch. It is worthy also of notice, that
during the winter season the market is filled
with a variety of wild-fowl, woodcocks, snipes,
&c. which are offered for sale at extremely
low prices. The market is held on Thursdays
and Saturdays ; but every description of fish in
season, as Red Mullet, John Doree, Turbot, Sole,
Mackarel, Whiting, Pilchard, Herring, &c. &c.
may be purchased from the Newlyn fish-women,
who are in daily attendance at their stalls, and
whose fine symmetry, delicate complexions, curl-
ing ringlets, and the brilliancy of whose jet black
eyes, as they dart their rays from beneath the
c

34. ^ Sea Baths.

shade of large gypsey hats of beaver, fill the tra-
veller with admiration.

We beg leave to introduce the reader to two
of these Nymphs of the CozseL*

Whilst speaking of the delicacies of the table
we must not omit to mention the clotted or clouted
cream of this and the neighbouring county, t
a luxury with which the epicures of other parts
are wholly unacquainted.

The town of Penzance is rapidly extending
itself; new houses are continually rising in com-
manding situations; and, since the publication of
the first edition of this work, HOT AND COLO
SEA BATHS have been completed upon a suitable

* The Cowel is the provincial name of the peculiar basket in
which they convey their fish, and is carried by means of a string
round their hats, as represented above. Its name lias been sup-
posed to have been derived from its resemblance in position and
appearance to the Monk's cowl.

f The custom of obtaining the cream from new milk by coagu-
lation from heat, is peculiar to Devonshire, Cornwall, and the op-
posite coast of Brittany, and is supposed to be of Celtic origin.
The butter obtained by beating up this cream does not differ much
in flavor from that procured by churning new cream, except the
process be carelessly conducted, when it will acquire a smoky taste.

A Packet to Stilly. 35

scale of convenience. The waiting room belong-
ing to this establishment commands a prospect
of very singular beauty. St. Michael's Mount
rising boldly in front, forms a striking relief to
the extended line of coast which constitutes the
back ground; while the undulating shores on
the left, skirted by the little village of Chy'an-
dour, are well contrasted, on the opposite side,
with the busy scene of the pier, and the nume-
rous vessels in the harbour.

In enumerating the advantages this town holds
out as a residence to invalids, it deserves notice
that a packet sails every Friday to the Scilly
Islands, and returns on the following Tuesday.
The distance is about fourteen leagues, and, with
a fair wind, the passage is generally accomplished
in six hours; but with contrary winds it has
sometimes, though very rarely, exceeded two days.

In a town so remote from the metropolis, and
in a great degree insulated from the other parts
of the empire, it is not extraordinary that we
should find the traces of several verv ancient

tf

customs. The most singular one is, perhaps, the
celebration of the Eve of Saint John the Baptist,*

* It is reasonable to advert to the Summer Solstice for this cus-
tom, although brought into the Christian Calendar under the

sanction of John the Baptist. Those sacred fires " kindled al t

midnight, on the moment of the Solstice by the great part of tho

36 Singular Festivities

our town saint, which falls on Midsummer Eve;
and that of the Eve of Saint Peter, the patron of
fishermen. No sooner does the tardy sun sink
into the western ocean than the young and old of
both sexes, animated by the genius of the night,
assemble in the town, and different villages of
the bay, with lighted torches. Tar barrels hav-
ing been erected on tall poles in the market
place, on the pier, and in other conspicuous spots,
are soon urged into a state of vivid combustion,
shedding an appalling glare on every surrounding
object, and which when multiplied by numerous
reflections in the waves, produce at a distant
view a spectacle so singular and novel as to defy
the powers of description ; while the stranger
who issues forth to gain a closer view of the fes-
tivities of the town, may well imagine himself
suddenly transported to the regions of the furies
and infernal gods ; or, else that he is witnessing,
in the magic mirror of Cornelius Agrippa, the
awful celebration of the fifth day of the Eleu-
sinian Feast ; * while the shrieks of the female

ancient and modern nations. The origin of which loses itself in
antiqnity ; " See Gebelin, and also Brand's Observations on Popular
Antiquities.

* The fifth day of the Eleusinian feast was called " the day of
the Torches" because at night the men and women ran about with
them in imitation of Ceres, who, having lighted a torch at the fire

on Midsummer Eve. 37

spectators, and the triumphant yells of the torch
bearers, with their hair streaming in the wind,
and their flambeaus whirling with inconceivable
velocity, are realities not calculated to dispel
the illusion. No sooner are the torches burnt
out than the numerous inhabitants engaged in
the frolic, pouring forth from the quay and its
neighbourhood, form a long string, and, hand
in hand, run furiously through every street, vo-
ciferating "an eye," — "an eye," — "an eye"!
At length they suddenly stop, and the two last of
the string, elevating their clasped hands, form
an eye to this enormous needle, through which
the thread of populace runs; and thus they con-
tinue to repeat the game, until weariness dis-
solves the union, which rarely happens before
midnight.

On the following day (Midsummer day) fes-
tivities of a very different character enliven the
bay ; and the spectator can hardly be induced to
believe that the same actors are engaged in both
dramas. At about four or five o'clock in the
afternoon, the country people, drest in their best
apparel, pour into Penzance from the neighbour-

of Mount ./Etna, wandered about from place to place, in search of
her daughter Proserpine. Hence may we not trace the high anti-
quity of this species of popular rejoicing.

38 Penzance burnt by

ing villages, for the purpose of performing an
aquatic divertisement. At this hour the quay and
pier are crowded with holiday-makers, where a
number of vessels, many of which are provided
with music for the occasion, lie in readiness to
receive them. In a short time the embarkation
is completed, and the sea continues for many
hours to present a moving picture of the most
animating description.

Penzance is remarkable in history for having
been entered and burnt by the Spaniards, in the
year 1595. From time immemorial a prediction
had prevailed, that a period would arrive when
" Some strangers should land on the rocks of
Merlin, who should burn Paul's Church, Pen-
zance, and Newlyn" Of the actual accomplish-
ment of this prediction we receive a full account
from Carew, from which it would appear that on
the 23d of July, 1595, about two hundred men
landed from a squadron of Spanish gallies, on
the coast of Mousehole, when they set fire to the
church of Paul, and then to Mousehole itself.
Finding little or no resistance, they proceeded
to Newlyn,* and from thence to Penzance. Sir
Francis Godolphin endeavoured to inspire the

* Will not (his historical fact explain the peculiar cast of beauty
j-osseseed by many of the Fish-women residing in this village.

the Spaniards in 1595. 39

inhabitants with courage to repel these assail-
ants ; but, so fascinated were they by the remem-
brance of the ancient prophecy, that they fled in
all directions, supposing that it was useless to
contend against the destiny that had been pre-
dicted. The Spaniards availing themselves of
this desertion, set it on fire in different places,
as they had already done to Newlyn, and then
returned to their galleys, intending to renew the
flames on the ensuing day ; but the Cornish hav-
ing recovered from their panic, and assembled in
great numbers on the beach, so annoyed the
Spaniards with their bullets and arrows, that
they drew their galleys farther off, and availing
themselves of a favourable breeze, put to sea
and escaped.

It is worthy of remark, that when the Spaniards
first came on shore, they actually landed on a
rock called " Merlin." The historian concludes
this narrative by observing that these were the
only Spaniards that ever landed in England as
enemies.

In recalling the historical events which have
invested this town with interest, we had nearly
omitted to state, that a tradition exists here, that
Tobacco was first smoked by Sir Walter Raleigh
in Penzance, on his landing from America. By

40 Sir If. Davy.

the Philosopher of a future age Penzance will,
doubtless, as the birth place of the illustrious
SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, be regarded with no
ordinary share of interest ; and to those who may
be led to perform a pilgrimage to the early labor-
atory of this highly gifted philosopher, the vig-
nette at the head of the present chapter will be
found materially useful in directing his steps.*

It would be inconsistent with the plan and
objects of the present work to enter into the de-
tails of biography, that duty must be reserved for
an abler pen, we shall therefore only state that
the present distinguished President of the Royal
Society was born in this town in the year 1779,
and that after having received the earlier part of
his education under Dr. Cardew at Truro, he was
placed with a respectable professional gentleman
of Penzance, of the name of Tonkin, in order
that he might acquire a knowledge of the pro-
fession of a surgeon and apothecary. His early
proofs of genius, however, having attracted a
gentleman well known for his strong perception
of character, he was fortunately removed to a
field better calculated to call forth the latent

* The house is the first on the left of the ascending footway, and
its only two small windows visible in the vignette, are situated im-
mediately beneath the clock of the market house tower.

Indigenous Plants. 41

energies of his mind. The result is too well
known to require comment.

In the vicinity of the town are delightful walks
through shady dingles, and over swelling hills,
from whose summits we catch the most delicious
sea and land prospects ; and which are not a
little heightened in beauty and effect by the glow-
ing aerial tints so remarkably displayed in this
climate at the rising and setting of the sun. Here
too the Botanist may cull, in his rambles, a great
variety of rare indigenous plants ; with a cata-
logue* of which we shall now close the present
chapter.

LIST OF INDIGENOUS PLANTS OF
WESTERN CORNWALL.

Alisma Damasonium (Star-headed Water Plantain) between Pen-
zance and Marazion.

A Ranuncoloides. Marazion Marsh.

Anchusa Officinalls (Common Alkanef) St. Ives, &c.
Anethum Fceniculum, common near Marazion.

A Graveolens. Marazion Marsh.

Aquilegia Vulgaris (Common Columbine) St. Ives, Goldsithney,&*e.
Antirrhinum Orontium (Lesser Snapdragon) Gulval, Land's End.

A Montspessilanum (liee Orchis) Penhryn.

Anthemis Nobilis (Common Chamomile) passim.

* Many of these plants were enumerated in the former edition of
this work, to which are now added some others, from the catalogue
published by Dr. Forbes, in his observations on the climate of
Penzance.

4f Indigenous Plants.

O

Anthyllis Vulneraria (iltcarf tcith a red Jlower.) (Kidney-fetch.

Ladies' Finger). Downs, Whitsand Bay.
Aspidium Oriopteris (Heath Shield-fern} Gear Slamps and New

Mill.

Aspidium Dilatatum. Variety. (Great Crested ditto) Moist Bank*.
Asplenium Marinum (Sea Spleenworl) St. Michael's Mount, Land's

End, Logan rock.
A Lanceolatum (Lanceolate ditto) Gulval, St. Michael's

Mount, Lemorna Cove, &c.

Bartsia Viscosa (Yellow Viscid B arista) Corn-fields near Hayle.
Brassica Oleracea (Sea Cabbage) Cliffs, Penzance.
Briza Minor (Small Quaking-grass) Cornfields between Gulval and

Ludgvan.

Bunias Cakile (Sea Rocket) Beach between Penzance and Newlyn.
Campanula Hederacea (Ivy-leaved Bell-Jlower) Trevaylor Bottom,

Gear Stamps, &c.
Chironia Littoralis (Sea Centaury) Beach between Penzance and

Marazion.
Cochlearia Officinalis (Common Scurvy-grast) Cliffs near the Sea,

common.
Convolvulus Soldanella (Sea Bindweed) Whitsand Bay, Maraziou

Green.

Cucsnta Epithymnm (Lesser Dodder) common upon Gorse.
Cynosurus Echinatus (Rough Dog's-tail Grass) Ludgvan.
Daucus Maritimus (Wild Carrol) Land's end, Logan rock, Botal-

lack, &c.
Dicranum Cerviculatum (Red-necked Forked Moss) Gulval. Scilly^

D Crispuin (Curled ditto) St. Mary's, Scilly.

Drosera Longifolia (Long-leaved Sun-dew) Marsh between Mara-
zion and Penzance.

Erica Vagans (Cornish Heath) Lizard Peninsula.
Erodium Maritimum (Sea Stork's Bill) Sea shore, common.

E Cicutarium (Hemlock's Stork's Bill) ditto.

Eryngium Maritimum (Sea Holly) Sea shore, common.
Euphorbia Peplis (Purple Spurge) Marazion Green.

E Portlandica (Portland ditto) Scilly Islands.

Exacum Filiforme (Least Gentianella) Marazion Marsh, beyond the

half way houses.
Genista Pilosa (Hairy Green-weed) Kynance Cove.

Indigenous Plants. 43

Gentiana Campestris (Field Gentian) Downs, Whitsand Bay.
Lizard, &c.

Geranium Columbinum (Long-stalked Crane's-bill) Ludgvan.

G Sanguini'iim (Bloody Crane's bill) Kynance Cove.

Glaucium Luteuin (yellow Horned Poppy) Scilly Islands.

HelleborusViridis (Green Hellebore) between Rosmorran and Kene-
gie, near the brook.

Herniaria Hirsuta (Hairy Rupture wort) between Mullion and the
Lizard.

Hookeria Lucens (Shining Feather-moss) Trevaylor Bottom. Be-
tween Rosmorran and Kenegie.

Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense ( Filmy-leaved fern) Among the
loose stones at Castle An Dinas, on the east side.

Hypnum Scorpioides (Scorpion Feather-moss) Gulval, Zennor, &c.

H Alopecuruui, variety (Fox-tail ditto) Gulval.

Illecebrum Verticillatum (WhorUd Knot-grass) Gulval, Gear
Stamps, Land's end.

Inula Ilelenium (Elecampane) Gulval, The Mount, St. Ives, Scilly.

Iris Fcetidissima (Stinking Iris, Roast Beef Plant) Madron.

Linum Angustifolium (Narrow-leaved pale Fla^) St. Ives.

L — - — Usitatissimum. Near Redruth.

Littorella Lacustris (Plantain S/ioreteeed). In a watery lane near
Penzance.

Mentha Odorata (Bergamot Mini} Burian.

M — • — Rotundifolia (Round-leaved Mint) Between Penzance and
Newlyn, Whitsand Bay.

Myrica Gale (Sweet Gale. Dutch Myrtle) Marsh, Gulval, and Ludg-
van.

Neckera Heteromalla (Lateral Neckera) Trevaylor Bottom, Try,
&c.

Neottia Spiralis. Between Penzance and Marazion.

Orchis Pyramidalis (Pyramidal Orchis) near Ilayle.

Ornithogalum Umbellatum (Common Star of Bethlehem) near Mara-
zion.

Ornithopus Perpusillus (Common Bird' 's- foot) Gulval, Carne, &c.

Osmunda Regalis (Royal Moontcort) Poltair.

Panicum Dactylum (Creeping Panick Grass) Marazion Beach.

Pinguicula Lusitanica (Pale Buitencort) Bogs in the neighourhood.

Pyrethrum Maritimum (Sea Feverfew) Sea-shore.

Rubia IVrugriua (Wild Madder) Hayle-lleUtcu, &c.

44 Indigenous Plants.

Reseda Luteola (Wild Woad, Dyer's Weed) Coarse lands beyond
Marazion.

Rumex Sanguineus (Bloody-veined Dock) Gulval.

Ruscus Aculeatus (Butcher'' s Broom) Lemorna Cove, &c.

Salvia Verbenacea (Wild English Clary) St. Ives, Scilly, &c.

Saniolus Valerandi (Brook-weed or Water Pimpernel) Land's end,
&c.

Santolina Maritima (Sea Cotton weed) Marazion beach.

Saponaria Officinalis (Soap-wort) St. Levan, Tresco Island, Scilly.

Saxifraga Stellaris (Hairy Saxifrage) Logan rock.

Scilla Verna (Vernal Squill) St. Ives, near Zennor, Morvah, oppo-
site to Three Stone Oar.

Scirpus Fluitans (Floating Club Rush) Gulval Marsh.

Scutellana Minor (Lesser Skull-cap) Bogs, Gulval.

Scrophularia Scorodonia (Balm-leaved Figwsorl) St. Ives, Gulval,
and Chyandour, plentifully.

Sedum Anglicum (English Stonecrop) very common.

S Telephium (Orpine or Livelong) Logan rock.

Sibthorpia Europoea (Cornish Moneywort) Moist banks, Gulval,
Madron Well, Trereife Avenue ; Helston, &c.

Silene Anglica (English Catchfly) common in Cornfields.

Solidago Virgaurea (Common Golden-rod) Penzance, &c.

Spergula Nodosa (Knotted Spurrey) near Marazion.

Spiraea Filipendula (Common Dropteort) Kynance Cove.

Stachys Arvensis (Corn Woundwort) Cornfields, common.

Tamarix Gallica (French Tamarisk) The Mount-Lizard, Scilly

Islands, but very probably introduced.

Trichostomum Polyphyllum (Fringe Moss) Gulval, Kenegie, &c.
Trifolium Subterraneum (Subterraneous Trefoil) near the Sea-shore.
Verbascum Nigrum (Dark Mullein) Gulval.
Utricularia Vulgaris (Common Bladdervoort) between Rosmorran

and Kenegie.

Saint Michael's Mount. 45

EXCURSION I.

TO SAINT MICHAEL'S MOUNT.

This precious stone, set in the silver sea ! "

Richard II. Actl. scene \.

THE traveller no sooner catches a glimpse of
this extraordinary feature in the bay, than he
becomes impatient to explore it; anticipating
this feeling1 we have selected it as an object for
his first excursion, and in its performance we
promise him an intellectual repast of no ordinary
kind.

To proceed to the Mount, by sea, the stranger
may embark at Penzance pier, from which it is
not more than two miles distant; by this arrange-
ment an opportunity will be afforded for witness-
ing a fine panoramic view of the coast ; should,
however, his inclination, or the " tyranny of the
winds and waves" oppose this project, he may
proceed by land through the little village of

46 JMamzion, or Market Jew.

Chy'andour, over a semicircular beach covered
with fine sand of about three miles in extent.
Between this sand and the high road is the
" Eastern Green^ celebrated as the habitat of
some rare plants, viz. Panicum Dactylum (in a
line with Gulval church); Chironia Littoralis ;
Alisma Damasonium ; Neotlia SpiraJis ; Euphorbia
JPeplis ; Euphorbia Paralias; Santolina Maritima ;
Convolvulus Soldanella, &c. On the beach the Con-
chologist may collect some fine specimens of the
Echinus Cordalus^ which is the onlv shell ever
found there. In the marshes on the left side of the
road the common observer will be struck with
the extreme luxuriance of the Ni/mphaia alba,
while the Botanist may reap an ample harvest
of interesting plants, viz. splendid specimens of
Montia Font ana , as large as the figure of Micheli ;
Illecebrum Vcrticillalum ; Sison Inundatum ; Api-
um Grareolens ; a rare variety of Senechio Jaco-
bcea ; Alisma Ranunculoides ; Slellaria Ulighioxa ;
Pinguicula Lusilanica ; Scirpus Flu i tans ; E.ra-
cum Filiforme ; Drosera Longifolia; Sculellurut
Minor ; Myrica Gale, &c.

Before our arrival at Saint Michael's Mount,
the only intermediate object worthy of notice is
the town of MARAZION, or MARKET JEW as it
is sometimes called. It stands upon the sea

Its Corporation and Borough. 47

shore, on the eastern shoulder of the bay, and is
well sheltered from cold winds by a considerable
elevation of land to the north ; still, however, as
it is exposed to the south-west, which is the pre-
vailing wind, it is far less eligible as a place of
residence for invalids than Penzance.

The town contains more than 1100 inhabitants;
its principal support, if not its origin, according
to some authors, was derived from the resort of
pilgrims and other religious devotees to the
neighbouring sacred edifice on Saint Michael's
Mount ; but its name was indisputably derived
from the Jews who traded here several centuries
ago, and held an annual market for selling va-
rious commodities, and purchasing tin, and other
merchandize in /return. In the reign of Queen
Elizabeth it obtained a charter, vesting its go-
vernment in a mayor, eight aldermen, and twelve
capital burgesses, with a power to hold a weekly
market, and two annual fairs. In the preamble
to this charter it is stated " that Marghaisewe
was a trading borough town of great antiquity,
and that it suffered considerable dilapidation in
the days of Edward VI., when a number of
rebellious people entered, and took possession
of the town, and laid many of the buildings iu
ruin." From this disaster the town does not

48 The Chapel Rock.

appear to have ever recovered, while from the
growing importance of Penzance, the suppression
of the Priory, and the loss of the Pilgrims, from
whom it derived its principal resources, its con-
sequence gradually declined, until at length it
dwindled into its present condition.

It has been asserted on good anthority, that
under this charter of Elizabeth, the town for-
merly sent members to Parliament, and Dr.
Borlase in his manuscripts, mentions the names
of Thomas Westlake, and Richard Mills, Esqrs.
as those of the two members who were actually
returned for Marazion in the year 1658. It does
not, however, appear that they ever took their
seats. It would seem, moreover, from some
original letters which passed between the Sheriff
of Cornwall and the mayor of this borough, du-
ring the protectorate of Cromwell, that the in-
habitants were solicitous to recover their Ions:

o

neglected rights ; but this effort proved ineffec-
tual.

In going from Marazion to the Mount, we
pass a large insulated rock, known by the name
of the " Chapel Rock" whereon the Pilgrims,
who came to visit the Priory of Saint Michael,
are said to have performed certain devotionary
and superstitious ceremonies, in a kind of initia-

Arrival at St. Michael's Mount. 49

tory chapel, previous to their admission to the
more sacred Mount ; there is not, however, the
slightest vestige of any masonry to be discovered,
and it would therefore seern more probable that
it merely derived its name from its vicinity to
the shrine of Saint Michael. The rock is com-
posed of well marked Greenstone, resting on a
bed of clay slate, and which, in its direction and
dip, will be found to correspond with the slaty
rock on the western base of the Mount.

We arrive at Saint Michael's Mount. — The
rock of which it is composed is of a conical form;
gradually diminishing from a broad, craggy base,
towards its summit, which is beautifully termi-
nated by the tower of a chapel, so as to form a
pyramidal figure. On its eastern base, is a small
fishing town, holding about 250 inhabitants ; and
a commodious pier,* capable of containing fifty
sail of small vessels, and which proves to the
proprietor of the Mount a considerable source of
revenue.

The height from low water mark to the top of
the chapel tower is about 250 feet, being 48 feet
higher than the monument in London. In cir-

o

* This Pier has lately been considerably enlarged at the expense
of Sir John St. Aubyn. The work was completed only in the last
Summer (1823), and will now admit vessels of five hundred ton*
burthen.

D

50 Geology

cumference at the base, the Mount measures
nearly a mile, and is said to contain about seven
acres of land ; such, however, is the effect of the
vast extent of horizon, and the expanded tract
of water which rolls around its base, that its
real magnitude is apparently lost.

In a mineralogical point of view, this eminence
is certainly the most interesting in Cornwall, or
perhaps in England ; who can believe that this
little spot has occasioned greater controversy,
and more 2#£-shed than any mountain in the
globe ? yet such is the fact ; let us therefore be-
fore we ascend walk around its base and examine
the geological structure which has excited so
much attention. The scenery too is here of the
most magnificent description ; rocks overhang
rocks in ruinous grandeur, and appear so fear-
fully equipoised, that, although secure in their
immensity, they create in the mind the most
awful apprehension of their instability, whilst
the mighty roar of the ocean beneath, unites in
effect with the scenery above. — All around is

sublime. But the Geology, enough of the

picturesque.

The body of the rock is composed of Slate and
Granite ; the whole northern base consists of the
former, but no where does it extend to any

of the Hill. 51

height, the upper part, in every direction, con-
sisting of Granite. On the south side this Granite
descends to the water's edge, and it continues to
constitute the whole of the hill, both on the east-
ern and western side, for about three-fourths of
its whole extent. Where the granite terminates
numerous veins of it appear in the slate, in many
different directions; while the granite in its turn,
encloses patches of slate. In the vicinity of the
former rock the latter is found to contain so
much Mica, as to resemble Micaceous Schist, or
fine giained Gneiss, for which it has been erro-
neously taken by some of our earlier observers.
And, while at some of these junctions there would
seem to be a mere apposition of the two rocks,
at others, the intermixture is so complete as to
render it difficult to say to which of the two cer-
tain considerable masses belong.

Here then is the phenomenon which has in-
vested the spot with so much geological interest.
Here is Granite, which Werner conceived to be a
primary formation, and around which he sup-
posed all other rocks to have been deposited, if
not of a later date, at least contemporaneous, in
origin, with slate. How is this anomaly to be
explained ? T)e Luc at once asserts what wo
presume no rational observer can for one moment
n 2

52 Geohgy

believe, that the rock of which these veins are
composed is not true Granite, but " Pseudo-
granite" \ Dr. Berger attempts to surmount the
difficulty by a different expedient, and declares
that they are not veins I but prominences from the
granite beneath, which have been filled up by
the subsequent deposition of clay-slate. It might,
says Sir H. Davi/,* with nearly as much reason
be stated, that the veins of copper and tin belong
to a great interior metallic mass, and that they
existed prior to the rocks in which they are
found. The advocates of the Plutonian theory
have, as might have been supposed, eagerly
availed themselves of the support which this
phenomenon is so well calculated to afford their
favourite doctrine. They accordingly affirm that
the granite has been raised up through the in-
cumbent slate, into whose fissures it has insinu-
ated itself. Upon these theories we shall offer
no comment; it is the humble task of a " Guide"
merely to direct the attention of the traveller to
the phenomena themselves, and then to leave
him to deduce his own conclusions from their
appearance. In the fulfilment of this duty we
recommend the geologist to proceed to the west-
ern base of the Mount, where he will find near

* Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
Vol. i. P. 41.

of the Hill. 63

the water's edge, what have been considered by
Dr. Thomson as " two large beds of granite in
the slate, with veins running off from thorn ; the
position and appearance of which are such as to
leave no doubt but that the great body of the
granite has been deposited posterior to the slate
formation." Mr. Carne, on the other hand, con-
tends that " these granitic bodies cannot with
any propriety be called ' Beds in the Slate ;' " one
of them,'* says he, " is a granite vein, and al-
though six feet wide near the granite mass, it
becomes gradually smaller as it recedes, and
dwindles to a point at the distance of 80 feet.
The other is a part of the granitic mass, from
which some veins appear to diverge ; and, in no
part does it overlie the slate." *

The whole body of the Granite of the Mount
is traversed by an uninterrupted series of quartz
veins, which run parallel to each other with
wonderful regularity. They are very nearly ver-
tical, and their direction is east and west. On
the north-east side of the Mount many of them
can be traced into the incumbent slate; a cir-
cumstance which strongly supports the idea of
the cotemporaneous origin of these two rocks.
In the investigation of these veins the Mineralo-

* Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
Vol. ii. p. 73.

54 Minerals found

gist may pass many an hour with satisfaction, we
shall therefore point out some of the more lead-
ing phenomena which deserve his attention. De
Luc observed that " that part of the vein termed
in Cornwall the Capel, and on the Continent
Selebanque, and which is the first stratum adhe-
rent to the sides of the fissures, changes as it
passes through different kinds of strata, some-
times consisting of white Quartz, sometimes of
Mica." Dr. Forbes * says, that occasionally,
though rarely, the line of division between the
vein and the rock is tolerably distinct ; frequent-
ly, however, there is rather an insensible grada-
tion of the matter of the one into that of the
other, than an obvious apposition of surfaces."
The exterior parts of the veins consist of a bluish
quartz, very compact, and uniformly containing a
great deal of Schorl. This schorlaceous character
is much more distinct towards the sides or walls
of the veins, their centre being generally pure
quartz', and, commonly, crystallized. In most of
the veins there is a central line, or fissure, which
divides them into two portions ; this is formed
by the close apposition and occasional union of

* Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
Vol. ii. p. 369.

at the Mount. 55

two crystallized, or, as they may be called, drusy
surfaces.

Since Veins must be considered as havin<j once

O

been the most active laboratories of Nature, so
may they now be regarded as her most valua-
ble cabinets of mineralogy. In those of Saint
Michael's Mount may be found crystals of Apa-
tite, from a very light to a very dark green colour,
and exhibiting most of the modifications of form*
which are common to that mineral ; Oxide of
Tin; Felspar', Mica beautifully crystallized in
tables ; Topaz in small whitish or greenish crys-
tals, t both translucent and opaque, and which
are extremely numerous, many hundred being
observable on the face of some small blocks of
granite that have fallen from the precipices.

finite has been said to have been also dis-
covered in this spot. Besides which may be found
that rare mineral, the Triple Sulphuret of Cop-

* See MR. PHILLIPS'S " ELEMENTARY INTRODUCTION TO MINE-
RALOGY." We shall on all occasions refer to this work without
reserve, as being a book which is, or ought to be, in the hands
of every scientific traveller. Its copious catalogue of English habi-
tats renders it extremely valuable.

T The mineralogist is apt to overlook these Topazes, or to regard
them as common quartz crystals, to which they bear a great resem-
blance, until we inspect their prisms, which will rarely be found
to be six-sided ; there is also another simple mark of distinction —
in the quartz crystal the striated appearance on its surface is
horizontal, whereas on the Topaz it is longitudinal.

56 Minerals found

per. Antimony ) and Lead ; Sulphuret of Tin ;
Malachite; Fluor Spar; and Wolfram. The
occurrence of this latter mineral was, we believe,
first noticed in the earlier edition of the present
work, and is important in as far as its presence
is generally supposed to afford decisive evidence
of the primitive formation of the mountain masses
in which it occurs.

This spot also presents us with several lodes
of Tin and Coppery the latter may be traced for
a considerable distance from the eastern to the
southern base of the hill. The lode of Tin was
formerly worked at the Mount, and a considerable
quantity of ore obtained; any farther excavation,
however, threatened to injure the foundations of
the castle, and it was therefore prudently aban-
doned.

The remains of the Mine may be seen on the
south side of the hill, and should be visited by
the mineralogist, who will find in the Drift,* Tin
crystals and Carbonate of Copper, besides some
other minerals. Veins of Lead are also discover-
able in the rocks. Mr. Carne t has lately directed
the attention of the mineralogist to the veins of

* A Drift is a trench or foss, cut in the ground to a certain
depth, resembling a channel dug to convey water to a mill wheel.

t Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
Vol.. ii. p. 56.

at the Mount. 57

Mica, which have hitherto only been found in
the granite of this singular spot. They are sel-
dom more than half an inch wide; and, although
tolerably straight, are very short. They gene-
rally consist of two layers of Mica in plates,
which meet in the centre of the veins. Some of
the masses of Granite which constitute the sum-
mit of the Mount have the appearance of an old
wall retaining, in parts, a coating of plaster; this
is the effect of decomposition, and of the capel
having in many places remained attached to the
face of the rock, after the vein itself has crumbled
down.

The Botanist will also find some amusement
among the rocks ; he will observe the Tamarisk,
(Tamarix Gallica) growing in their crevices, and
relieving by a delicate verdure the harsh unifor-
mity of their surfaces. This shrub was probably
imported from Normandy by the Monks. Aspic-
nium Marinum and Inula Ilelenium are also to
be seen among the rocks — but let us leave the
Botanist and Mineralogist to their researches,
while we climb the hill and examine the venera-
ble building on its summit.

We ascend on the north-eastern side by a
rocky winding path, in the course of which,
several remains of its ancient fortifications pre-

58 Castle on the

sent themselves; thus, about the middle of the
hill, there is a curtain, parallel to, and flanking
the approach, at whose western end is a ravelin,
through which every one is to pass, walled with
three embrasures, and at the angle in the eastern
shoulder is a centry box to guard the passage,
and there was formerly also an iron gate ; after
having passed this ruin, we turn to our left, and
ascend by a flight of broken steps to the door of
the castle, whose appearance is much more mo-
nastic than martial. The most ancient parts of
the building are the Entrance, with the Guard-
room on the left hand ; the Chapel, and the for-
mer Refectory, or common hall of the Monks.
The other parts are of a modern date, although
the style of their architecture confers upon them
a corresponding air of antiquity.

The Refectory, or Common Hall, from the
frieze, with which it is ornamented, appears to
have been fitted up, since the reformation, as a
dining room for a hunting party, and is popularly
denominated " The Chevy-Chace Room" The
cornice represents in stucco, the modes of hunting
the wild boar, bull, stag, ostrich, hare, fox, and
rabbit. At the upper end of this room are the
royal arms, with the date 1644; and, at the op-
posite end, those of the St. Aubjn family. The

Summit of the Mount. 59

room is 33 feet long, 16 wide, and 18 high, and
has a solemn and imposing appearance, which is
not a little heightened by the antique and appro-
priate character of its furniture and ornaments.

The Chapel exhibits a venerable monument of
Saxon architecture; its interior has lately been
renewed in a chaste style of elegance, and a
magnificent organ has been erected. During
these repairs, in levelling a platform for the
altar, under the eastern window, a low gothic
door was discovered to have been closed up with
stone in the southern wall, and then concealed
with the raised platform ; when the enclosure
was broken through, ten steps appeared descend-
ing into a stone vault under the church, about
nine feet long, six or seven broad, and nearly as
many high. In this room was iound the skeleton
of a very large man, without any remains of a
coffin. The discovery, of course, gave rise to
many conjectures, but it seems most probable,
that the man had been there immured for some
crime. The bones were removed and buried in
the body of the chapel. At the same time upon
raising the old pavement, the fragment of an
inscribed sepulchral stone of some Prior was
taken up; there was also a grave stone, not in-
scribed, which Antiquaries have supposed to have

00 Extensive Prospect

covered the remains of Sir John Arundel, of
Trerice, Knight, who was slain on the strand
below, in the wars of York and Lancaster. In
the tower of this chapel are six sweet toned bells,
which frequently ring when Sir John St. Aubyn
is resident ; at this time also choral service is
performed ; and, on a calm day, the undulating
sound of the bells, and the swelling note of the
organ, as heard on the water, produce an effect
which it is impossible to describe.

From the chapel, we may ascend by a narrow
stone stair-case to the top of the tower. The
prospect hence is of the grandest description,
and is perhaps as striking as any that can occur
to " mortal eye" " The immense extent of sea,'*
says Dr. Malon, " raises the most sublime emo-
tions, the waves of the British, Irish, and Atlantic
seas all roll within the compass of the sight,"
whilst the eye is relieved from the uniform,
though imposing grandeur of so boundless an
horizon, by wandering on the north and west,
over a landscape, which Claude himself might
have transfused on his canvas.

On one of the angles of this tower is to be seen
the carcase of a stone lantern, in which, during
the fishing season, and in dark tempestuous nights,
it may reasonably be supposed that the monks,

from the Chapel Tower. 61

to whom the tithe of such fishery belonged, kept
a light, as a guide to sailors, and a safeguard to
their own property ; this lantern is now vulgarly
denominated Saint Michael's Chair, since it will
just admit one person to sit down in it; the at-
tempt is not without danger, for the chair, ele-
vated above the battlements, projects so far over
the precipice, that the climber must actually turn
the whole body at that altitude, in order to take
a seat in it; notwithstanding the danger, how-
ever, it is often attempted ; indeed one of the
first questions generally put to a stranger, if
married, after he has visited the Mount, — did
you sit in the chair ? — for there is a conceit that,
if a married woman has sufficient resolution to
place herself in it, it will at once invest her with
all the regalia of petticoat government ; and that
if a married man sit in it, he will thereby receive
ample powers for the management of his wife.
This is probably a remnant of monkish fable, a
supposed virtue conferred by some saint, perhaps
a legacy of St. Keyne, for the same virtue is at-
tributed to her well.

" The person of that man or wife,
Whose chance, or choice attains
First of this sacred stream to drink,
Thereby the mastery gains."

62 Natural History.

On the north-eastern side of the fabric are
situated the modern apartments. They were
erected by the late Sir John St. Aubyn upon the
ruins of the ancient convent, in clearing away
which, cart loads of human bones were dug up,
and interred elsewhere, the remains probably
both of the nuns and of the garrison. All that
deserves notice in this part are two handsome
rooms leading into each other, from which the

^y f

prospect is of the most extensive description. In
the first parlour, placed in niches, are two large
vases, with an alto relief of statuary marble in
each, relating to Hymeneal happiness.

Let us now take a review of the various inter-
esting events, which the traditionary lore of past
ages represents as having occurred at this spot,
and first of the natural history of the Hill itself.

THE NATURAL HISTORY. — The rock of the
Mount has worn the same aspect for ages ; tra-
dition however whispers, that at a remote period
it presented a very different appearance, — that it
was cloathed with wood, and at a considerable
distance from the sea ! Its old Cornish name,
" Carreg Lug en Kug^"1 that is, the hoary rock
in the wood, would seem to add some probability
to the tradition. It appears also from the origi-
nal charter of the Confessor, that the Mount was

Ecclesiastical History. 63

in his time only nigh the sea, for he describes it
expressly as Saint Michael near the sea, " Sanct-
um Michaelum qui estjuxta mare." What this
distance was the charter does not inform us, but
the words of Worcester, who gained his informa-
tion from the legend of Saint Michael, are suffi-
ciently decisive, " this place was originally in-
closed within a very thick wood, distant from the
ocean six miles, affording thejinest shelter to wild
beasts." With respect to the period and causes
of the catastrophe which have changed the face
of this country, we have already offered some
observations.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.— The Mount ap-
pears to have been consecrated by superstition
from the earliest period ; and, according to monk-
ish legends, from the supposed appearance of the
archangel Saint Michael to some hermits, upon
one of its craggy points. Tradition has not pre-
served the place where the vision appeared, but
antiquarianism has attempted to supply the defi-
ciency by conjecture ; the spot was denominated
" Saint Michael's Chair ^ and is said to be one
of the large rocks overhanging the battery, an
appellation which has been erroneously trans-
ferred to the carcase of a stone lantern, situated,
as we have just stated, on the tower of the chapel.

64 Ecclesiastical History.

Our poet Milton alludes to this vision in the fol-
lowing passage of his Lycidas —

" Or whether thou to our moist views deny'd

" Sleeps't by the fable of Bellerus old

" Where the great vision of the guarded mount

" Looks towards Namancos and Bayonas hold.

" Look homeward Angel now, and melt witli ruth,

" And O ye dolphins, waft the hapless youth."

Spencer also makes mention of this spot in a
manner which proves that it was universally hal-
lowed by the devout.

" In evil hour thou lenst in hond
' Thus holy hills to blame,
' For sacred unto Saints they stond,
' And of them han their name,
' St. Michael's Mount who does not know
' That wards the western coast."

Very little is known with respect to the eccle-
siastical history of the Mount, previous to its
endowment by Edward the Confessor. From
what may be collected, however, from expiring
tradition, it would appear that so early as the
end of the fifth century, Saint Keyne, a holy vir-
gin of the blood royal, daughter of Breganus
Prince of Brecknockshire, with her cockle hat
and staff, performed a pilgrimage to Saint Mi-
chael's Mount : now it is fair to conclude that it
was before this time a place universally hallowed,
or a person of Saint Keyne's rank would not have

of Saint Michatr* Mount. 65

paid it such a visit; thus then was it renowned
for its sanctity for at least five hundred years
before the grant and settlement of it by the
Confessor; before this period, however, it was
probably little more than an hermitage, or ora-
tory, with the necessary reception for pilgrims.

The Confessor found monks here serving God,
and gave them by charter the property of the
Mount together with " all the land of VennefirC
(a district probably in Cornwall), with the towns,
houses, fields, meadows, land cultivated, and
uncultivated, with their rents; together with a
port called Ruminclla (Romney in Kent), with
all things that appertain, as mills and fisheries,"
first obliging them to conform the rule of the
order of Saint Benedict.

The peculiar respect in which this church was
held may be estimated from an instrument re-
corded by William of Worcester, and asserted to
have been found amongst its ancient registers.

" To all members of Holy Mother Church, who
" shall read or hear these letters, Peace and Sal-
^ vation. Be it known unto you all, that our
*' Most Holy Lord Pope Gregory, in the year of
" Christ's Incarnation, 1070, out of his great zeal
" and devotion to the church of Mount Saint
" Michal, in Tumba, in the county of Corn wall,
G

66 Ecclesiastical History

" hath piously granted to the aforesaid church,
" which is entrusted to the Angelical Ministry,
" and with full approbation, consecrated and
" sanctified, to remit to all the faithful, who shall
" enrich^ endow, or visit the said church, a third
" part of their Penance, and that this grant may
" remain for ever unshaken and inviolable, by
" the authority of God the Father, and of the
" Son, and of the Holy Ghost, he forbids all his
" Successors from attempting to make any altera-
" tion against this Decree."

We learn from the same author, that in order
to encrease, as much as possible, the influx of
votaries to the shrine, the above decree was
placed publicly on the gates of the church, and
enjoined to be read in other churches.

When the Normans came in, Robert Earl of
Morton and Cornwall became the patron of this
religious house, erected buildings, and gave some
lands, but from a superior affection for Nor-
mandy, he abridged its liberties, and annexed it
to the monastery of Saint Michael de periculo
Maris, on the coast of Normandy, to which situ-
ation the Mount is said to bear a striking resem-
blance; from this time, it became only a cell
dependant upon, and subordinate to that foreign
priory. As these Monks were of the reformed

r Saint Michael's Mount.

67

order of Bedictines, and of the Gilbertine kind,
a nunnery as allowed in their vicinity; this
they woul<]make us believe was done with no
other vieuthan to shew the triumph of faith
over the ipulse of sense, but it certainly must
be confess^, to speak even most charitably of it,
that such i union amid the sequestration of soli-
tude, cares a strange appearance with it to our
protestan suspiciousness. The remains of this
con vent, Ire have already said, were removed by
the late proprietor, and the New Buildings, as
they articallcd, erected on their site ; from the
appeararie of the carved fragments of stone, and
other maks of architectural distinction, found
among tq ruins, the Nunnery appears to have
been by ff the most costly and magnificent part
of the edice, the result we presume of Monkish
gallantri/\ Its establishment appears to have ter-
minated jt the time Pomeroy surprised it, (an
account |f which transaction is recorded under
the miliury history,) but the Priory continued a
cell to aint Michael's in Normandy, until that
connectijn was destroyed, and all the alien prio-
ries wen seized in the reign of Edward the
Third.

Henrjjthe Sixth granted this Priory to King's
College/ Cambridge, but it was afterwards trans-

E2

68 Ecclesiastical History

ferred by Edward the Fourth to tli nunnery of
Sion, Middlesex ; and so it contin>d until the
general dissolution: at which periorits revenues
were valued at j£110 : 12s. per anum, a con-
siderable sum at that time, especiallys the num-
ber of Monks maintained on the foumtion never
exceeded six ; this sum, together withhe govern-
ment of the Mount, which was thena military
post, was bestowed on Hugh Arunde who was
executed for rebellion in the year 1544 On his
death it was demised to John Milliton f Penger-
sick, Esq., to William his son, and irther to
William Harris, Esq. of Hayne in Dvonshire,
connected by marriage with the famil of Milli-
ton. Queen Elizabeth, by Letters Pajnt, in the
29th years of her reign, demised it to Arthur
Harris* of Kenegie, Esq. a younger ;on of the
above William Harris, for life. It is in the
Patent (which recites the former graits to the
Millitons) described as in the notet belov. Arthur

* Ancestor of William Arundel Harris Arundel, Esc of Kenegie.

+ Firmam nrtsm sti michis ad montem in dco nro ornub ac tot
ilium scit domu mansional sive capital messuag nrncvocat Sainte
Michaells Mounts als diet the Priorie of Sainte Michals Mounte in
dco com nso cornub quondm menastr de Sion in om nro midd
spectan & ptinen habendum & tenendum ad tmnm &pr tmno vite
natural ipsius Arthuri Harris. Reddendo inde amuatim nob
hered & successoribs nris viginti sex libras tres de-,em solid et
quatuor denar legalis monete Angel." &c.

Of Saint Michael's Mount. 69

Harris was about this time appointed Governor
of the Mount, and held that appointment until
his decease in 1628. It was then granted, it is
supposed, in trust for the Earl of Salisbury, from
whom it passed to Francis Bassett, Esq. who
being imprisoned by the usurping powers in the
reign of Charles the First, was obliged in order
to purchase his liberty to part with it to John St.
Aubyn, Esq. in whose family it now remains.
The present Baronet seldom visits it, a circum-
stance universally regretted, for no gentleman
better understands how to grace the venerable
seat with Knightly dignity and splendor : Sir
John too is a zealous mineralogist, and might by
his presence in Cornwall contribute essentially
to the progress of that science ; in one respect
his absence is fortunately supplied by the vigi-
lance of his agents, and every geologist ought to
feel obliged to them, we allude to the care with
which they protect the picturesque and minera-
logical beauties of the rocks by opposing the
sacrilegious removal of any part of them.

MILITARY HISTORY — From the time of King
Edward the Confessor, to the middle of the reign
of Richard the First, the Mount appears to have
been exclusively the sacred nursery of religion ;

70 Military History

the earliest transaction of a military nature was
during the captivity of Richard the First, in Ger-
many, when Henry de la Pomeroy, of Berry
Pomeroy in Devonshire, having stabbed a ser-
jeant at arms who came to summon him to appear
for a heavy crime, fled into Cornwall, and cast
himself upon the protection of John, Earl of
that province, who readily supplied him with an
armed force, for he was then aspiring to his bro-
ther's throne ; with this, Pomeroy went in dis-
guise to the Mount, and under a pretence of
visiting his sister, who was in the nunnery, gained
admission, and treacherously reduced it to the
service of the said John ; upon the return how-
ever of the King from imprisonment, he surren-
dered the garrison on mercy, although, despairing
himself of pardon, he soon died, or as some say,
caused himself to be bled to death ; after this
event, the Prior and the Monks were restored to
the full possession of their cells, revenues, snd
chapel ; a small garrison however was still main-
tained, to defend it against the sudden invasion
of enemies, and in this condition, " manned out
with carnal and spiritual soldiers," did the Mount
remain for a space of 275 years, when another
military transaction occurred to disturb its re-
pose. After the defeat of the Lancastrians at

of Saint Michael's Mount. 71

Barnet, in the eighteenth year of Edward the
Fourth, John Vere, Earl of Oxford, one of the
most zealous partisans, fled from the field, set
sail for Saint Michael's Mount, and having dis-
guised himself, together with a few attendants,
in the habits of pilgrims, obtained entrance, mas-
sacred the unsuspecting garrison, and seized the
fortress, which he valiantly defended for some
time against the forces of Edward, but was at
length compelled to surrender. Sir John Arundel
de Trerice, Sheriff of Cornwall, at the command
of the King, marched thither with posse comitalus
to besiege it, but he fell a victim on the sands,
at its base, and lies buried in the chapel.

In King Henry the Seventh's reign, the Lady
Catherine Gordon, wife of Perkin Warbeck, the
pretended son of Edward the Fourth, remained
here for safety, but after the flight of her hus-
band, she was taken prisoner by Giles, Lord
Banbury, and carried before that King.

During the Cornish commotion in the reign of
Edward the Sixth, many of the superior families
fled to the Mount for security, and were besieged
by the rebels, who took the plain at the bottom
of the rock by assault, at the time of low water,
and afterwards the summit, by carrying great
trusses of hay before them to obstruct the defen-

72 Military History

dants sight, and deaden their shot. This situa-
tion, together with the fears of the women, and
the want of food, obliged the besieged to sur-
render. During the civil contentions in the reign
of Charles the First, the fortifications of the
Mount were so much increased, that the works
were styled " impregnable and almost inacces-
sible." The Parliament forces, however, under
the command of Colonel Hammond, reduced the
place, and liberated the Duke of Hamilton, who
was there confined; a service which the his-
torians of that period represent as full of danger
and difficulty, and this was the last military tran-
saction that occurred upon this romantic spot.
Several batteries were erected by government
during the late war, to command the western
part of the bay, the eastern being too shallow to
allow the entrance of large vessels.

We cannot conclude this account of the Mount
without observing, that several antiquarians have
considered it as the Ictis of Diodorus, whither
* the Greek merchants traded for Cornish Tin ;
the limits of this work will not allow us to enter
upon the discussion, but we beg to refer the
curious reader to an ingenious work, published
by Sir Christopher Hawkins,* and to Dr. Matons

* See Sir C. Hawkins's Tract on the Tin Trade of the ancients
in Cornwall, and on the Ictis of Diodorus ijiculus

of Saint Michael's Mount. 73

" Observations on the Western Counties. It is
curious, and satisfactory, that these gentlemen
should have arrived at the same conclusion upon
the subject, and by nearly the same train of rea-
soning", without any previous communication with
each other.

74 To the Land's End,

EXCURSION II.

TO THE LAND'S END.— LOGAN ROCK, &c.

" The Sun beams tremble, and the purple light
Illumes the dark Bolerium ; — seat of storms,
High are his granite rocks ; his frowning brow
Hangs o'er the smiling ocean. In his caves,
Where sleep the haggard spirits of the storm,
Wild dreary are the schistose rocks around,
Encircled by the waves, where to the breeze
The haggard cormorant shrieks ; and far beyond
Are seen the cloud-like islands, grey in mists."

Sir 11. Davy.

IN an excursion to the Land's End the travel-
ler will meet with several intermediate objects
well worthy his attention, more worthy, perhaps,
than the celebrated promontory itself, as being
monuments of the highest antiquity in the king-
dom. They consist of " Druidical circles, Cairns,
or circular heaps of stones, Cromlechs, Crosses,
Military Entrenchments, and the obscure remains
of Castles. Many of these venerable objects,
however, to the eternal disgrace of the inhabi-

, Castle Horneck, and Rose Hill. 75

tants be it spoken, have of late been much muti-
lated, and indeed some have been entirely de-
molished. That the noblest monuments of Greece
should have been converted into lime by the
barbarous Turks, or that the temple of Diana
should have furnished a cement for the volup-
tuous apartments of the Haram, are instances of
degeneracy which we might have been prepared
to witness in such a people ; but that the venera-
ble remains of British antiquity, the silent but
faithful monuments of men and days long past,
which are so interesting from their connection
with the primitive history of our island, should
in this enlightened age have been sawed into gate
posts, or converted into pig-troughs, is really
past all endurance. — But to proceed. — In riding
from Penzance to the Land's End, which is about
ten miles distant, the first objects to be noticed
are two beautiful villas, well wooded, and ad-
joining each other, — Castle- II 'orneck, the seat
of the Borlase family, and Rose Hill, the pro-
perty of the Rev. Uriah Tonkin. The sea and
land views from these houses are of the most
enchanting description. In viewing the latter
place, the stranger will scarcely believe that the
spot which now exhibits so rich a pastural scene,
was a few years since a deformed and barren

76 Trereiffe.

rock ! but what cannot gold effect, or where is
the wild which its magic cannot convert into
fairy land ? The cost of the gunpowder alone
for blowing up the rocks to facilitate their renio-
al amounted to several hundred pounds.

About a mile farther west, the road passes
another villa, Trereiffe, the ancient seat of the
family of Nicholls, who have been proprietors of
the great tythes of the parish of Madron from the
period of the reformation. It is now the resi-
dence of the Rev. Charles Valentine Le Grice,
into whose possession it has passed by marriage.
The scenery about this place is of a very ex-
quisite cast, and, from the richness of the land,
and luxuriance of its productions, it may be
fairly denominated the garden of the Mount's
Bay. After passing through a shady avenue,
from which we catch a delicious peep of the sea
bounded by a grotesque group of rocks, we take
leave of the picturesque, and plunge into a coun-
try of a very different aspect and description,—
rough, wild, and unsheltered ; never was contrast
more complete or striking, not a tree is seen to
break the extended uniformity of the hills, nor is
there a single object, with the exception of a few
scattered monuments of antiquity, to recommend
it to notice. The agriculturist may, perhaps,

Wild Downs. 77

view the district with somewhat different sen-
sations, for the downs are certainly improveable,
and those portions which have been brought into
tillage have amply rewarded the labour of the
adventurer : indeed in several districts cultivation
has even spread to the very brim of the ocean.

The natural product of the high lands is only a
thin turf interspersed with heath, fern and furze,*
and many huge blocks of granite are disseminated
in all directions ; this circumstance has materially
impeded the progress of cultivation, for in order
to remove these boulders it is necessary to blast
them with gunpowder ; the fragments, however,

* This product is carefully collected, and preserved in stacks
by the inhabitants, for the purpose of fuel. It is worthy of re-
mark that the nature of the fuel employed in a country always
imparts a character to its cookery, hence the striking difference
between that of Paris and London; so in Cornwall, the conveni-
ence afforded by the furze in the process of Baking, has given
origin to the general use of pies. Every article of food is dressed
in a pie, whence it has become a proverb, that " the Devil tcil!
not come into Cornwall, for fear of being put into a pie." In a
season of scarcity the Attorneys of the county having at the
Quarter Sessions very properly resolved to abstain from every
kind of pastry, an allusion to the above proverb was very happily
introduced into an Epigram, extemporaneously delivered on the
occasion, and which, from its point and humour, deserves to be
recorded —

" If the proverb be true, that the fame of our pies
Prevents us from falling to Satan a prey,

It is clear that his friends— the Attorneys,— are wise
In moving such obstacles out of the way."

78 Growan, its uses.

become useful in their turn, and are employed in
making enclosures, which bear the provincial
name of hedges. This stone, commonly called
Growari) is, moreover, wrought into columnar
masses, eight or ten feet long, which are used as
supporters to sheds and outhouses, or gates posts,
and bridges over rivulets. It is also the material
of which common rollers, mill-stones, salting and
pig troughs are made ; in short, few stones are
converted to more various purposes of rural
oeconomy, and it accordingly forms an article of
some commercial value. The mode of splitting it
into the required forms is somewhat curious ; it
is effected by applying several wedges to holes
cut, or pooled as it is termed, in the surface of
the stone at the distance of three or four inches
from each other, according to its size and hard-
ness ; the harder the mass, the easier it may be
split into the required form ; the softer, the less
regularly it separates. The blocks of granite
employed in the construction of the Waterloo
Bridge over the Thames were procured from the
downs in the vicinity of Penhryn.*

* We insert the following facts collected by Dr. Paris, from the
first volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of
Cornwall — " The total quantity of Granite shipped at Falmouth
during the last seven years, amounts to Forty Thousand Tons. It
has been employed for building the Docks at Chatham, and the

Applied as a Manure. 79

The Granite of the Land's End district is re-
markable for its coarse grain, and the large pro-
portion of its felspar, which, according to the
observations of Dr. Paris, may be estimated as
high as from 70 to 90 per cent. It moreover pos-
sesses an earthy texture, which greatly accelerates
its decomposition. This circumstance will in
some measure account for the unusual fertility of
the growan soil in the parishes of Saint Burian,
Sennen, and Saint Levan. It will moreover
explain the theory of a practice, which would
otherwise appear absurd, that of actually apply-
ing the disintegrated growan to certain lands as
a manure !

On a closer examination of this Granite, the
prismatic crystals of felspar will often be found
to exhibit that structure which Haiiy calls hcmi-
trope ; more often, they are termed macles, and

Waterloo Bridge in London. The lands in the vicinity of Penhryn
have furnished it; indeed the quantity actually quarried has been
considerably greater, for many of the blocks, in consequence of
being damaged, have been condemned and sold at a low price to
the inhabitants for building, and other purposes. The number of
men generally employed in quarrying it is about four hundred ;
their wages from twelve to eighteen shillings per week, varying
with the quantity raised. The lord of the soil receives one halt-
penny a foot for all that is quarried ; the freight during war was
as high as 25 shillings per ton, at present it is only 16s. Fourteen
cubic feet weigh one ton. The weight of the blocks generally variea
from five cwt. to seven tons.

80 Cornish Agriculture.

are compounded of two crystals intersecting each
other at particular angles.

The Botanist as he rides along in the Summer
months will observe amongst the gorse (Ulex),
which is abundant on each side of the road, the
parasitical plant Cuscuta Epithymum, (called
Epiphany by the country people,) winding its
spiral structure in all directions, and producing
from its reddish hue a beautiful contrast.

The farming of this country is in general slo-
venly, and certainly very far behind any other
part of the kingdom,* although it is but just to
acknowledge that Lelia, a farm situated near the
Land's End road, forms a pleasing exception to
this general remark. The proprietor, John
Scobell Esq. of Nancealverne, has here intro-
duced the Drill Husbandry of Northumberland,
which would seem to be well adapted to a coun-
try so infested with weeds, those hungry invaders
of the farmer's property, and usurpers of his soil.
The farmers have a peculiar practice, obviously-
suggested by the inconstancy of the weather, that
of putting up their wheat, barley, and other kinds

* It is not more than three hundred years since the art of hus-
bandry was first introduced. The lands were formerly all in com-
mon, and the inhabitants being wholly engaged in the mines, actu-
ally let out their pastures to the graziers of Devon, by whom they
were in return supplied with cattle and corn.

Ancient Crosses — Druidical Circles. 81

of grain, in the field into what are called " Arish-
mows" The sheaves are built up into a regular
solid cone about twelve feet high ; the beards all
turned inwards, and the butt end only exposed
to the weather. The whole is finished by an
inverted sheaf of reed or corn and tied to the
upper rows.

The first objects of antiquity which we have to
notice are the stone crosses placed by the roads'
side ; some of them still retain their original
situation, while others, broken and mutilated,
have been converted into the various purposes of
rural oeconomy. They appear to have been ori-
ginally designed as guides to direct the pilgrim
to the different churches. A few of the more
remarkable of them are represented as vignettes
in different parts of the present work, from which
the reader will become acquainted with their
general appearance.

At Bosc A WEN-UN, in a field about a quarter
of a mile west of Leha, we meet with one of the
most ancient British monuments in the kingdom ;
" a Druidical circle," as it has been pronounced,
consisting of nineteen stones, some of which have
fallen, placed in a circle of about twenty-five
feet in diameter, having a single one in the cen-
tre. There is considerable doubt and obscurity

82 ;'O ' Chapel Euny.

with respect to the origin and intended use of
these circles, of which there are many similar
examples in Cornwall. Camden is inclined to
consider them as military trophies, while Borlase
deems it highly probable that such monuments
were of religious institution, and designed origi-
nally and principally for the rites of worship ; at
the same time he conceives " they might some-
times have been employed as places of council
and judgment, and that, whilst any council or
decree was pending, the principal persons con-
cerned stood, each by his pillar, and that where
a middle stone was erected, as at Boscawen-Un,
there stood the Prince or General elect." This
must certainly be acknowledged as one of the
most extraordinary specimens of antiquarian
dreaming ever presented to the public.

About half a mile to the right of the high
road stands an object of later origin, but not
of less interest to the antiquary ; the ruins of a
small oratory, or baptistry, dedicated to Saint
EuinuSj and commonly known by the name of
Chapel Euny. It is situated near a well, whose
waters have been long supposed to possess very
extraordinary virtues, and to have performed
many miraculous cures. There is a similar ruin,
which we shall hereafter have occasion to notice

Caerbran Castle. 83

at Madron ; and it is worthy of remark that
these wells do not possess any mineral impreg-
nation ; the sick, however, at this very day, repair
to them, while the credulous attempt to read the
future in the appearance of the bubbles produced
in their waters by the dropping in of pins or
pebbles. This mode of divining is perhaps one
of the most ancient superstitions that have de-
scended to us, and was termed Hydromancy.
The Castalian fountain, and many others amongst
the Grecians, were supposed to be of a prophetic
nature ; thus, by dipping a fair mirror into a well
did the Patraeans of Greece receive, as they vainly
imagined, some notice of ensuing sickness, or
convalescence.

On the summit of the hill above these ruins,
are situated the remains of Caerbran Castle or
Round (that is Brennus's Castle) which is thus
described by Borlase. " It is a circular fortifi-
cation, consisting first of a deep ditch, fifteen
feet wide, edged with stone, through which you
pass to the outer vallum^ which is of earth, fifteen
feet high, and was well perfected towards the
north-east, but not so towards the west ; within
this vallum, passing a large ditch about fifteen
yards wide, you come to a stone wall, which
quite rounded the top of the hill, and seems to

F2

84 Chapel Cam Ere.

have been of considerable strength, but lies,
now, like a ridge of disorderly stones ; the dia-
meter of the whole is ninety paces, and in the
centre of all is a little circle."

There are no less than seven of these hill cas-
tles, as they are termed, although they might
with more propriety be called strong entrench-
ments, to be seen at this time within five miles
around Penzance ; all so placed on the hills as
to admit of immediate communication with each
other by signal. From several of them we have
views of the North and South Channel, but from
all of them either that of one sea or the other.
Much doubt has arisen concerning their origin.
Mr. Polwhcle attributes them to the Irish, while
Dr. Borlase, like an orthodox antiquary, who
takes shelter, whenever he is bewildered, under
the sanction of a popular name, at once boldly
decides upon their Danish origin.

The lonely ruins of Chapel Cam Bre next
attract our notice; they are situated upon the
extremity of a high granite ridge, overlooking
the surfy recess of Whitsand Bay, from their
great elevation they are visible from every part
of the country, although they scarcely form a
skeleton of the original building, and in a short
time, probably, not a vestige will remain to mark

Scnnan Church-town. 85

the consecrated spot. It appears to have been a
Chantry, erected for the performance of religious
service for the safety of mariners. It is not for
the inspection of these ruins that we direct the
stranger to ascend the hill, for they are too in-
significant to merit attention, but it is for the
purpose of his viewing the extensive prospect
which its summit commands, — a wild expanse of
waters occupying twenty-rnine points of the com-
pass ! — From this spot also Saint Michael's Mount
has a singularly fine effect, appearing as if placed
in the centre of a lake at a distance from the
ocean.

We now proceed to Sennan Church-town,*
which according to barometrical admeasurement
is 391 feet above the level of the sea. It is about
a mile from the Land's End., and is celebrated
for containing the Ale-house whimsically called
" The First and Last Inn in England" On the
western side of its sign is inscribed u The First"
and on the eastern side " The Last Inn in Eng-
land"

The last village towards the Land's End is
named Mayon or Mean. In this place is the

* Chnrch-Town. This expression is peculiar to Cornwall — the
fact is, that since many market, and even Borough towns are vsith-
out a church, the Cornish dignify those that have it with the title
of Church-town.

86 The Land's End.

large stone spoken of by Dr. Borlase under the
name of " Table mean" and concerning which
there is a vaguo tradition that three kings once
dined together on it, in their journey to the
Land's End.

On the turf between this village and the Land's
End, the Botanist will find Bartsia Viscosa, and
Illocebrum Verticillatum^ the latter of which is
peculiar to this county.

Having arrived at the celebrated Promontory,
we descend a rapid slope, which brings us to a
bold group of rocks, composing the western ex-
tremity of our island. Some years ago a military
officer who visited this spot, was rash enough to
descend on horseback; the horse soon became
unruly, plunged, reared, and, fearful to relate,
fell backwards over the precipice, and rolling
from rock to rock was dashed to atoms before it
reached the sea. The rider was for some time
unable to disengage himself, but at length by a
desperate effort he threw himself off, and was
happily caught by some fragments of rock, at
the very brink of the precipice, where he re-
mained suspended in a state of insensibility until
assistance could be afforded him ! The awful
spot is marked by the figure of a horse-shoe,
traced on the turf with a deep incision, which is

Its magnificent Scenery. 87

cleared out from lime to time, in order to pre-
serve it as a monument of rashness which could
be alone equalled by the good fortune with which
it was attended.

Why any promontory in an island should be
exclusively denominated the Land's End, it is
difficult to understand; yet so powerful is the
charm of a name, that many persons have visited
it on no other account ; the intelligent tourist,
however, will receive a much more substantial
gratification from his visit ; the great geological
interest of the spot will afford him an ample
source of entertainment and instruction, while
the magnificence of its convulsed scenery, the
ceaseless roar, and deep intonation of the ocean,
and the wild shrieks of the Cormorant, all com-f
bine to awaken the blended sensations of awe
and admiration.

The cliff which bounds this extremity is rather
abrupt than elevated, not being more than sixty
feet above the level of the sea. It is composed
entirely of Granite, the forms of which present a
very extraordinary appearance, assuming in some
places the resemblance of shafts that had been
regularly cut with the chisel ; in others, regular
equidistant fissures divide the rock into horizon-
tal masses, and give it the character of basaltic

88 Cape Cornwall.

columns ; in other places, again, the impetuous
waves of the ocean have opened, for their retreat,
gigantic arches, through which the angry billows
roll and bellow with tremendous fury.

Several of these rocks from their grotesque
forms have acquired whimsical appellations, as
that of the Armed Knight, the Irish Lady, &c.
An inclining rock on the side of a craggy head'
land, south of the Land's End, has obtained the
name of Dr. Johnson's Head, and visitors after
having heard the appellation seldom fail to ac-
knowledge that it bears some resemblance to the
physiognomy of that extraordinary man.

On the north, this rocky scene is terminated
by a promontory 229 feet above the level of the
sea, called " Cape Cornwall," between which and
the Land's End, the coast retires, and forms
Whitsand Bay, a name which it derives from
the peculiar whiteness of its sand, and amongst
which the naturalist will find several rare micro-
scopic shells. There are, besides, some historical
recollections which invest this spot with interest.
It was in this bay that Stephen landed on his first
arrival in England ; as did king John, on his re-
turn from Ireland ; and Perkin Warbeck, in the
prosecution of those claims to the crown to which
some late writers have been disposed to consider

Long'ships Lighthouse. 89

that he was entitled, as the real son of Edward
the Fourth. In the rocks near the southern ter-
mination of Whitsand Bay may be seen the junc-
tion of the granite and slate ; large veins of the
former may be also observed to traverse the
latter in all directions.

In viewing the whole of the scenery of this
stern coast " it is impossible" says De Luc, not
to be struck with the idea, that the bed of the sea
is the effect of a vast subsidence, in which the strata
were broken off on the edge of what, by the re-
treat of the sea towards the sunken part, became
a continent ; the many small islands, or rocks of
granite, appear to be the memorials of the land's
abridgement, being evidently parts of the sunken
strata remaining more elevated than the rest."
There is a small Archipelago of this kind called
the Long-ships, at the distance of two miles west
of the Land's end ; on the largest of these rocks
is a light-house, which was erected in conse-
quence of the very dangerous character of the
coast, by a Mr. Smith, in the year 1797, who ob-
tained a grant from the Trinity House, and was
rewarded for a limited number of years by a cer-
tain rate on all ships that passed it. This period
having expired, it is at present under the juris-

90 Tradition of the Lioness.

diction of the Trinity House.* The tower is con-
structed of granite, the stones of which are /re-
nailed on the same plan as that adopted by Smea-
ton in the construction of the Eddystone light-
house. The circumference of the tower at its
base is 68 feet; the height from the rock to the
vane of the lantern, 52 feet; and from the sea to
the base of the light-house it is 60 feet ; but not*
withstanding this elevation its lantern has been
often dashed to pieces by the spray of the ocean
during the winter's tempest! The management
of this establishment is entrusted to two men,
who during the winter are often, for two or three
months, confined to this sea-girt prison without
the possibility of communicating with the land ;
they accordingly lay in a store of provisions, as
if they were about to embark for a long voyage.

We have already stated that the historians of
Cornwall, from Leland, Norden, and Carew,
downwards, have all recorded the ancient tra-
dition of a considerable portion of the Mount's
bay having been formerly woodland. They have
likewise handed down the concurrent tradition
relative to the supposed tract of land which once

* We take this opportunity to state, that the annual revenue of
the Long-ships lighthouse is about three thousand pounds. Every
British vessel that passes pays a halfpenny per ton ; — every foreign
vessel pays one shilling, without reference to its tonnage.

Scilly Islands. 91

connected the islands of Scilly with Cornwall.
This tract, to which we are told was given the
name of the Lioness (" the Silurian Lyonois")
is said to have contained one hundred and forty
parish churches, all of which were swept away
by the resistless ocean ! As to the Cornish word
Lethowstow, or Lioness^ by which the sea be-
tween Scilly and Cornwall is distinguished, we
may observe, that the appropriation of such a
term is sufficiently accounted for from the general
violence and turbulence of the sea, just as the
celebrated rock lying south of the channel be-
tween the Land's end and Scilly retains the name
of the Wolf)* from the howling of the waves
around it. Those who may wish for farther evi-
dence upon this subject may consult Mr. Boase's
excellent memoir " On the submersion of part of
the Mount's bay," published in the second volume
of the Transactions of the Geological Society of
Cornwall.

ibWe shall in this place make a short digression,
in order to afford some account of the Scilly
Islands, which are situated in a cluster about
nine leagues, west by south, from the Land's
end, and are distinctly visible from it.

* It is a curious fact that the whole or part of this rock is Lime
stone.

92 Sc///y Islands.

The SCILLY ISLANDS were called by the
Greeks Hesperides and Capiterides, or the Tin
Isles, and by this name they are mentioned by
Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and Solinus. They
must, however, have undergone some material
revolution since the age of these writers, for we
fail in every attempt to reconcile their present
state with the description which they have trans-
mitted to us; and what is very unaccountable,
not a vestige of any ancient mine can be dis-
covered in the islands, except in one part of
Trescow; and these remains are so limited, that
they rather give an idea of an attempt at dis-
covery, than of extensive and permanent mi-
ning. We are strongly inclined to believe that
the Tin of those days came, in part at least, from
the opposite coast of Saint Just, but of this we
shall hereafter speak more fully. In the time of
Strabo we learn that the number of these Islands
did not exceed ten, whereas at present there are
upwards of one hundred and forty, but of which
the following only are inhabited, viz. Saint
Mary's, Saint Agnes', Saint Martin's Trescow,
Bryer, and Sampson. It is curious that the name
of the cluster should have been derived from one
of the smallest of the islets (Scilly), whose sur-
face does not exceed an acre. The number of

Lighthouse at St. Agnes. 93

inhabitants amounts to about two thousand,
nearly half of which reside in Saint Mary's,
which contains 1600 acres; it possesses three
towns, a pier, a garrison, a custom house, and
some monuments of British antiquity.

At SAINT AGNES is a very high and strong
lighthouse, which was erected in the year 1680.
Its present machinery was designed by the inge-
nious Adam Walker, the well known lecturer on
Natural Philosophy, although it has lately un-
dergone some modification at the suggestion of
Mr. Wyatt. The machinery consists of a trian-
gular frame attached to a perpendicular axis,
which, by means of an appropriate power, is
made to revolve once every three minutes. On
each face of the triangle are arranged ten para-
bolic reflectors of copper plated with silver, each
having an argand lamp in its focus. By this
device the light progressively sweeps the whole
horizon, and by its regular intermission and in-
crease is readily distinguished from every other
on the coast. *

The civil government of these islands is chiefly
managed by twelve of the principal inhabitants,

* Vessels passing this light pay the same dues as those received
by the Long-ships, except in the case of coasting vessels, which
pay, not according to their tonnage, but simply a shilling per
vessel.

94 Of the Inhabitants of the

who meet monthly at Heugh Town, St. Mary's,
and settle differences by compromise. The Duke
of Leeds holds the islands by lease for thirty-one
years from the year 1800, at the rent of j£40,
besides paying the fine of -s£4000, as a renewal.

The reader is no doubt anxiously waiting to
be introduced to the classical descendants of the
Grecian or Phoenician race, — Whether they have
been swallowed up with the " Lioness," or wash-
ed into the ocean by the tempests, we know not ;
but certain it is that the present inhabitants are
all new comers ; — Phoenician or Grecian, there

are none Jenkins, Ellis, Hicks, Woodcock,

Ashford, and Gibson* are names which would
even defy the ingenious author of the Diversions
of Purley to trace to a classical source.

The Scillonians are a robust and healthy peo-
ple, and were it not for the facility with which
they obtain spirits, they would attain a very ad-
vanced age. It is a common saying amongst
them, and is no doubt intended to express how
highly favourable the spot is to longevity, al-
though it obviously admits of another construc-
tion, that "for one man who dies a natural death*

* One half of the inhabitants of St. Agnes are named Hicks ; one
quarter of those of Trescow, and a third of those at Bryher are
called Jenkins; and a half of St. Martin's is divided between.
Ellis and Ashford.

Stilly Islands. 95

nine are drowned" It has been remarked that a
deformed person is not to be found in the islands;
but we apprehend that this fact requires an ex-
planation very different from that which is usu-
ally assigned; it cannot be received as any test
of the salubrity of the spot, or of the superior
healthiness of the race; the fact is simply this,
that exposure to inclement weather, want of
proper food, and those various privations which
necessarily increase as we recede from the luxu-
ries of civilization, kill, during infancy, those
feeble subjects which might, otherwise, have
become deformed during the progress of their
growth. It is for the same reason that we so
frequently observe the troops of barbarous coun-
tries composed of the most athletic individuals, for
the hardship of their service weeds out the feeble
and invalid. We have already alluded to the
tenacity with which the Cornishman clings to his
native soil, but the attachment of the Scilionian,
if possible, is still stronger to his desolate rock.
What a striking contrast does this form with the
roving inhabitant of an alluvial country, where
every object, it might be presumed, was calcu-
lated to excite and sustain the strongest attach-
ment ; but this principle of Nature is wise and
universal, — the plant is easily loosened from a

96 Distress of the

generous soil, hut with what difficulty is the
lichen torn from its rock.

The islanders are chiefly employed in fishing,
making kelp from the Algce, which is disposed of
to the Bristol merchant for the use of the glass
manufacturer, and in pilotage. From a combi-
nation, however, of unfortunate circumstances, in
addition to the fatal blow given to the smuggling
trade, by the activity of the preventive service,
the inhabitants were reduced to such extreme
distress that it became necessary in the year 1819
to appeal to the generosity of the public in their
behalf; and, notwithstanding the great difficul-
ties of the times, the sum of nine thousand pounds
was collected for their relief. In this great work
of charity it is but an act of justice to state, that
the Society for promoting Christian knowledge,
by their purse, as well as by their writings, per-
formed a very essential service. The funds thus
obtained were in part appropriated to the relief
of the immediate and pressing distress under
which they laboured, while the remainder was
very judiciously applied towards the promotion of
such permanent advantages as might prevent the
chance of its recurrence. A Fish-cellar was
accordingly provided in the island of Trescow,
for the purpose of storing and curing fish ; boats

of the Scillonians. 97

adapted for the Mackarel and Pilchard Fisheries
were purchased, and others were repaired ; nets
and various kinds of tackling were also at the
same time liberally supplied. By such means
have the inhabitants of these cheerless rocks
been enabled to avail themselves of some of the
resources which Providence has placed within
their reach, and their families have been thus
enabled to exist without the dread of absolute
starvation.* Much, however, still remains for
philanthropic exertion, and should this humble
volume fall into the hands of those, who are
enabled by the superior gifts of fortune to
contribute to the wants of their unhappy breth-
ren, we may perhaps serve their cause by sta-
ting that any donation, however small, will be
received by Henry Boase, Esq. at the Penzance
Bank. The greatest benefit would arise from the
extension of their fisheries, for in consequence of
the peculiar situation and convenience of these
islands, the Cod and Ling fisheries might be car-

* See " A view of the present state of the Scilly Islands; exhi-
biting their vast importance to the British Empire, the Improve-
ments of which they are susceptible, and a particular account of the
means lately adopted for ameliorating the condition of the Inhabi-
tants, by the establishment and extension of their Fisheries. By the
Rev. George Woodley, Missionary from the Society for promoting
Christian Knowledge ; and Minister of St. Agnes, and St. Mar-
tin's." 8ro. pp. 344. London, 1822.

G

98 Stilly Islands,

ried to almost any extent ; and, while boats in
any part even of the Mount's Bay, would be
weather-bound with the wind W.S.W. to S., they
can proceed from Scilly into the channel, without
the least difficulty. The Scillonians, however,
have as yet been unable to avail themselves of
the advantages of their locality ; the want of pro-
per boats prevents their proceeding in the pursuit
of their occupation, farther than four or five
leagues from the land.

During the summer months various species of
fish are caught with hook and line ; among the
smaller kind, which are salted by the Scillonians
for their winter consumption, are " Bass, Wrass,
Chad, Scad, Brit, Barne, Cuddle, Whistlers, &c.
all of which are included by the islanders under
the general appellation of " Rock-fish."

There is a very curious fact noticed here with
respect to the Woodcock. These birds generally
arrive in Scilly before they are observed in any
part of England; more frequently with a north-
east,* though sometimes with a north-west wind,
and are often so exhausted as to be caught in
great numbers by the inhabitants, especially near

* The same wind is said to bring them on the Southern shores
of Ireland. It is generally believed that they come from Norway,
not so much to avoid the cold, as to obtain the worms which are
locked up in the earth during the frost.

Their Climate and Geology. 99

the lighthouse, the splendour of whose light ap-
pears to attract them, and striking against its
lantern they not unfrequently fall lifeless in the
gallery. It is for the naturalist to consider from
whence they migrate.

The Climate of these islands is both milder and
more equable than that of Cornwall, but this
advantage is counterbalanced by the frequent
occurrence of the most sudden and violent storms.
By those who have kept journals it has been
found that not more than six days of perfect calm
occur in the course of a year, and that the wind
blows from between S.W. and N.W. for more
than half of that period.

With respect to Geology, these islands will
afford but little variety; with the exception of
some beds of Porphyry at Saint Mary's, and
some beds of Chlorite^ containing Pyrites, in the
same island, they consist entirely of Granite, and
are doubtless a continuation of the Devonian
range, although the rock assumes an appearance
less porphyritic ; it contains, however, veins of
red Granite. At the Lizard Point in the island
of Trescow, a variety of granite occurs, in which
the felspar is of a remarkably pure white, and
might, we should conceive, be advantageously
employed in the manufacture of Porcelain. ! In

100 Si. Mary's, Sd%.

some chasms of this rock, and in the centre of
large masses, the Mica is of a silvery hue, and
occurs crystallized in its primitive form. In the
same island is a remarkable cavern, in the centre
of which is a pool of fresh water. The porphy-
ritic beds in Saint Mary's are interesting on
account of the distinct appearance of stratification
which they display, and Mr. Majendie thinks
that an undoubted instance of stratified granite
is to be seen near the same spot. The Granite
of Scilly is very liable to decomposition ; whence
has arisen all that fancied statuary of the Druids,
of which we have spoken in another place. The
Islands are undoubtedly undergoing a gradual
diminution. At no great distance of time Saint
Mary's will probably be divided by the sea, and
a channel formed through the low land between
the New-town and the south-east side of the gar-
rison. This might perhaps be prevented by
throwing down masses of granite from a neigh-
bouring hill, so as to form a barrier against the
sea. The object may be worthy of attention, as
the sea in winter, with a high tide, has been
known to pass over this land, and the effect of its
forcing a channel there would be to divide the
garrison from the rest of the island. If the Geolo-
gist proceeds to a spot behind the quay, and be-

Return to the Land's End. 101

tween the front of the garrison-hill and that
island, he will be gratified by the discovery of a
process the very converse of that which we have
been just describing. In these places the granitic
sand is becoming indurated by the slow infiltra-
tion of water holding iron in solution, and which
appears to be derived from the decomposing hills
above it. Some fine specimens of this " regene-
rated" granite have been placed in the Geologi-
cal Society's cabinet at Penzance.

We now return to the Land's End, — from
which we should proceed to visit a promontory
called " Castle TrerynJ* where is situated the
celebrated " Logan Stone." If we pursue our
route along the cliffs, it will be found to lie seve-
ral miles south-east of the Land's End, although
by taking the direct and usual road across the
country, it is not more than two miles distant ;
but the Geologist must walk, or ride along the
coast on horseback, and we can assure him that
he will be amply recompensed for his trouble.

From the Cape on which the signal station is
situated, the rock scenery is particularly magnifi-
cent, exhibiting an admirable specimen of the
manner, and forms, into which Granite disinte-
grates. About forty yards from this Cape is the
promontory called Tol-Pedn-Pcmvith, which in

102 Tol-Pedn-Penwith.

the Cornish language signifies the holed headland
in Penwith. The name is derived from a singu-
lar chasm, known by the appellation of the Fun-
nel Rock ; it is a vast perpendicular excavation
in the granite, resembling in figure an inverted
cone, and has been evidently produced by the
gradual decomposition of one of those vertical
veins with which this part of the coast is so fre-
quently intersected. By a circuitous route you
may descend to the bottom of the cavern, into
which the sea flows at high water. Here the
Cornish Chough (Corvus Graculus) has built its
nest for several years, a bird which is very com-
mon about the rocky parts of this coast, and may
be distinguished by its red legs and bill, and the
violaceous blackness of its feathers. This pro-
montory forms the Western extremity of the
Mount's Bay. The antiquary will discover in
this spot the vestiges of one of the ancient " Cliff
Castles," which were little else than stone walls,
stretching across necks of land from cliff to cliff.
The only geological phenomenon worthy of par-
ticular notice is a large and beautiful contempo-
raneous vein of red Granite containing Short; is
one foot in width, and may be seen for about
forty feet in length.

Continuing our route around the coast we at

Logan Rock.

103

length arrive at " Castle Treryn." Its name is
derived from the supposition of its having been
the site of an ancient British fortress, of which
there are still some obscure traces, although the
wild and rugged appearance of the rocks indicate
nothing like art.

The foundation of the whole is* a stupendous
group of Granite rocks, which rise in pyramidal
clusters to a prodigious altitude, and overhang
the sea. On one of those pyramids is situated
the celebrated " Logan Stone," which is an
immense block of Granite weighing above 60
tons. The surface in contact with the under
rock is of very small extent, and the whole mass

104 Logan Rock.

is so nicely balanced, that, notwithstanding its
magnitude, the strength of a single man applied
to its under edge is sufficient to change its centre
of gravity, and though at first in a degree scarcely
perceptible, yet the repetition of such impulses,
at each return of the stone, produces at length a
very sensible oscillation ! As soon as the astonish-
ment which this phenomenon excites has in some
measure subsided, the stranger anxiously en-
quires how, and whence the stone originated —
was it elevated by human means, or was it pro-
duced by the agency of natural causes ? — Those
who are in the habit of viewing mountain masses
with geological eyes, will readily discover that
the only chisel ever employed has been the tooth
of time — the only artist engaged, the elements.
Granite usually disintegrates into rhomboidal
and tabular masses, which by the farther opera-
tion of air and moisture gradually lose their solid
angles, and approach the spheroidal form. De
Luc observed, in the Giant, mountains of Silesia,
spheroids of this description so piled upon each
other as to resemble Dutch cheeses; and appear-
ances, no less illustrative of the phenomenon,
may be seen from the signal station to which we
have just alluded. The fact of the upper part
of the cliff being more exposed to atmospheric

Logan Rock. 105

agency, than the parts beneath, will sufficiently
explain why these rounded masses so frequently
rest on blocks which still preserve the tabular
form ; and since such spheroidal blocks must ob-
viously rest in that position in which their lesser

•-
axes are perpendicular to the horizon, it is equally

evident that whenever an adequate force is ap-
plied they must vibrate on their point of support.
Although we are thus led to deny the Druidical
origin of this stone, for which so maay zealous
antiquaries have contended, still we by no means
intend to deny that the Druids employed it as an
engine of superstition ; it is indeed very probable
that, having observed so uncommon a property,
they dexterously contrived to make it answer the
purposes of an ordeal, and by regarding it as
the touchstone of truth, acquitted or condemned
the accused by its motions. Mason poetically
alludes to this supposed property in the following
lines.

" Behold yon huge

And unknown sphere of living adamant,
Which, pois'd by magic, rests its central weight
On yonder pointed rock: firm as it seems,
Such is its strange, and virtuous property,
It moves obsequious to the gentlest touch
Of him, whose heart is pure, but to a traitor,
Tho' e'en a giant's prowess nerv'd his arm,
• It stands as fix'd as Snowdon."

The rocks are covered with a species of Byssus

JOG Logan Rock.

long and rough to the touch, forming a kind of
hoary beard ; in many places they are deeply
furrowed, carrying with them a singular air of
antiquity, which combines with the whole of the
romantic scenery to awaken in the minds of
the poet and enthusiast the recollection of the
Druidical ages. The Botanist will observe the
common Thrift (Statics Armeria) imparting a
glowing tinge to the scanty vegetation of the spot,
and, by growing within the crevices of the rocks,
affording a very picturesque contrast to their
massive fabric. Here too the Daucus Maritimus,
or wild carrot; Sedum Telephium^ Saxifraga
Slellaris, and Asplenium Marinum, may be found
in abundance.

The Granite in this spot is extremely beauti-
ful, on account of its porphyritic appearance ;
the crystals of felspar are numerous and distinct;
in some places the rock is traversed by veins of
red felspar, and of black tourmaline, or schorl,
of which the crystalline forms of the prisms, on
account of their close aggregation, are very in-
distinct. Here may also be observed a contem-
poraneous vein of schorl rock in the granite,
nearly two feet wide, highly inclined and very
short, and not having any distinct walls. On
the western side of the Logan rock is a cavern,

Treryn Cove. 107

formed by the decomposition of a vein of granite,
the felspar of which assumes a brilliant flesh-red,
and lilac colour; and, where it is polished by
the sea, exceeding even in beauty the Serpentine
caverns at the Lizard.

Mr. Majendie observed in this spot numerous
veins of fine grained granite, which he is inclined
to consider as cotemporaneous ; he also observed
what, at first sight, appeared to be fragments,
but which, upon closer examination, he pronoun-
ces to be cotemporaneous concretions ; for large
crystals of felspar may be seen shooting from the
porphyritic granite into these apparent fragments.
These phenomena are extremely interesting in a
geological point of view, and well deserve the
attention of the scientific tourist.

In Treryn cove, just below the site of the
castle, Dr. Maton found several of the rarer
species of shells, as Patella Pellucida, P. Fissura^
MytilusModioluS) Trochus Conulus, Turbo Cimex,
and T. Fascitatus (of Pennant.)

Before we quit this coast we beg to state, for
the information of the geological tourist, that the
Granite which we have just traced from beyond
the Land's End to this spot, continues until with-
in half a mile of the signal post near Lemorna
cove, where it meets with a patch of slate, and is

108 Saint hurt/an.

lost for about the space of three quarters of a
mile. At the western extremity of this junction
(Cam Silver) the mineralogist will find em-
bedded Garnet-rock with veins of Epidote and
Axinite. Here may also be seen the rare occur-
rence of a granite vein penetrating both the slate
and the granitic rock.

But let us return. About two miles north-
east of the Logan rock, and in the high road to
Penzance, stands the town of SAINT BURY AN,
which though now only a group of wretched cot-
tages was once a place of very considerable note,
and the seat of a College of Augustine Canons;
the latter was founded by Athelstan after his
return from the conquest of the Scilly Islands,
A.D. 930. The remains of the College were wan-
tonly demolished by one Shrubshall, Governor
of Pendennis Castle, during the usurpation of
Cromwell.

The Church tower stands on the highest point
in this part of the country, being 467 feet above
the level of the sea ; it consequently forms a very
conspicuous object, and is so exposed to the rains
from the Atlantic, that the stones carry a decep-
tive face of freshness with them which lends an
aspect of newness to the whole building. From
the top of the tower the prospect is of a very

It's ancient Church. 109

extensive kind, commanding the whole range of
the surrounding country, and an immense surface
of sea. In clear weather the Scilly Islands may
be easily distinguished in the horizon, especially
with a setting sun, when they appear to project
from the brilliant ground of the western sky like
figures embossed on burnished gold.

Both from the history and appearance of this
edifice the antiquary will enter it with sensations
of awe and veneration, but he will find with
regret that the ancient Roodloft has been lately
removed, from an idea that it deadened the voice
of the preacher, and that the parishioners have
also converted the original forms into modern
pews, a change which has cruelly violated the
venerable uniformity of the interior. There is a
singular monument in the church, in the shape of
a coffin, having an inscription around the border
in very rude characters, and now partly oblitera-
ted ; it is in Norman French, and has been thus
translated.

CLARICE

The wife of Geffrei de Bollait lies here
God of her soul have mercy
They who pray for her soul shall have
Ten days Pardon.

110

Ancient Crosses.

On the middle of the stone is represented a
Cross fleury, standing on four steps ; the monu-
ment is said to have been found many years ago
by the sexton, while sinking a grave.

Opposite the great door in the church-yard
stands a very ancient Cross, on one side of which
are five balls, and, on the other, a rude figure
intended to represent the crucified Saviour. We
here present our readers with a sketch of this
singular monument.

BuryoA ChureH-yard,

Another Cross stands in the road, and faces the
entrance into the church-yard, of which also we
have introduced a delineation.

Buryan,

Deanery of St. Buryan. 1 1 1

The Deanery is in the gift of the Crown, as a
royal peculiar, and is tenable with any other
preferment. The Dean exercises an independent
jurisdiction in all ecclesiastical matters within
the parish of St. Burian, and its dependent pa-
rishes of St. Levan, and Sennan. He is the
Rector, and is entitled to all tithes. A Visitation
court is held in his name, and the appeal from it
is only to the King- in council. Athelstan is said
to have granted to this church the privilege of a
Sanctuary, and a ruin overgrown with ivy; stand-
ing on an estate called Bosliven, about a mile
east from the church, is thought to be its remains,
but Mr. Lysons justly observes that the Sanctuary
usually comprised the church itself, and perhaps
a certain privileged space beyond it, and that the
ruins to which the tradition attaches, are proba-
bly those only of an ancient chapel.

From St. Buryan the traveller may at once
return to Penzance, which is about six miles dis-
tant, but as no object of particular interest will
occur in the direct road, it is unnecessary for us
to attend him thither. Should he, however, be
inclined to extend his excursion, he will receive
much gratification in returning by a somewhat
circuitous route along the southern coast, through
the parish of Saint Paul. In this case, we may

112 Boskenna. Merry Maidens.

first proceed to Boskennat the seat of John
Paynter Esq. a highly romantic spot, abounding,
with woodcocks, and which under the direction
of a skilful landscape gardener might be made to
emulate in beauty any of the charming villas that
adorn the under-cliff of the Isle of Wight. On
this estate there is a superficial quarry of decom-
posing granite, which the mineralogist ought to
visit, for the purpose of obtaining some remark-
ably fine specimens of felspar in separate crys-
tals, which may be easily removed from the mass
in which they lie imbedded.

At Bolleit, in a croft near Boskenna, and ad-
joining the high road, is to be seen a circle of
stones very similar to that we have already de-
scribed (p. 81,) except that it has not a central
pillar; the appellation given to these stones is
that of the " Merry Maidens" on account of a
whimsical tradition, that they were once young
women transformed like Niobe into stones, as
a punishment for the crime of dancing on the
Sabbath day. In a field on the opposite side of
the road there are two upright stones standing
about a furlong asunder, the one being nearly
twelve, the other sixteen feet in height. They
are probably sepulchral monuments; the same
ridiculous tradition, however, attaches to them

The Pipers. — Lemorna Cove. 1 13

as to the circle, and has accordingly bestowed
upon them the appellation of the " Pipers.'3

At CARN BOSCAWEN, on this coast, is to be
seen a very extraordinary group of rocks, con-
sisting of a large flat stone, the ends of which
are so poised upon the neighbouring rocks, as to
leave an opening underneath ; Dr. Borlase, with
his accustomed zeal, insists upon its Druidical
origin, and ever ready to supply the deficiency
of both history and tradition by the sallies of an
active imagination, very confidently informs us,
that " this said opening beneath the pensile stone
was designed for the seat of some considerable
person, from which he might give out his edicts,
and decisions, his predictions, and admissions to
Noviciates" ! — Risum teneaiis gcologici ?

In our road to Saint Paul, we pass Trouye, or
Trewoof, an estate situated on the side of a
woody hill, overlooking a romantic valley, which
is terminated by Lemorna Cove, a spot which
should be visited by every stranger who delights
in the " lone majesty of untamed Nature."
Within the estate of Trouve are the remains of a
triple entrenchment, in which runs a subterranean
passage; and, it is said, that during the civil
wars a party of Royalists were here concealed
from the observation of the forces of Sir Thomas
H

114 Paul Church.

Fairfax. There is a fine chalybeate spring on
this estate.

At KERRIS, in the parish of Paul, about five
miles from Penzance, is an oval enclosure called
" RoundagO)" which is stated to have been con-
nected with Druidical rites; time and the Goths,
however, have nearly destroyed its last remains,
so that the antiquary will require the eyes of a
Borlase to recognise its existence by any descrip-
tion hitherto given of it.

PAUL CHURCH is a very conspicuous object
from its high elevation,* and interests the his-
torian from the tradition, already stated, of its
having been burnt by the Spaniards, upon which
occasion the south porch alone is said, in con-
sequence of the direction of the wind, to have
escaped the conflagration. A pleasing confirma-
tion of this tradition was lately afforded during
some repairs, when one of the wooden supporters
was found charred at the end nearest the body of
the church. It also deserves notice that the thick
stone division at the back of the Trewarceneth
pew, which has so frequently occasioned enquiry,
is a part of the old church, which escaped the

* It may be observed in the engraving of Saint Michael's Mount,
on the elevated line of coast which forms the back ground to the
picture.

Old Dolly Pentreath. 1 1 5

fire. In the church is the following curious no-
tice of its having been burnt, " The Sponger
burnt this church in the year 1595."

Most tourists inform us that in this church-
yard is to be seen the monumental stone, with
the epitaph of Old Dolly Pentreath) so celebrated
among antiquaries, as having been the last per-
son who spoke the Cornish language. Such a
monument, however, if it ever existed, is no
longer to be found, nor can any information be
obtained with regard to its probable locality.
Her Epitaph is said to have been both in the
Cornish and English language, viz.

" Coth Dol Pentreath canz ha deaw
Marir en Bedans en Fowl pleu
Na en an Eglar ganna Poble bra?.
Bet en Eglar Hay Coth Dolly es ! "

" Old Dol Pentreath, one hundred age and two
Both born, and in Paul Parish buried too ;
Not in the Church 'mongst people great and high
But m the Church-yard doth old Dolly lie !"

In the parishes of Paul and Buryan are sevesal
Tin streams ; in some of which the Wood Tin, or
wood-like oxide of Tin, is occasionally found in
large, and well defined pieces. It has been also,
although rarely, found in its matrix.

From Paul Church we may proceed to Pen-
ii 2

116 Fishing Villages of

zance, either by the high road over Paul Hill,
which becomes extremely interesting from the
picturesque beauty and superior cultivation of
the country ; or we may descend towards the sea
shore, and return through the villages of Mouse-
hole and Newlyn, which may be called colonies
of Fishermen, for here the Pilchard* and Mack-
arel fisheries are carried on to a very great ex-
tent ; and every kind of fish which frequent this
coast are caught and sent to Penzance, and other
Cornish towns; and, in the early part of the
season, they supply the London market with
Mackarel, which are conveyed thither by way of
Portsmouth. The Lobster fishery also proves
an ample source of revenue to the Mount's Bay
fishermen, from which alone they divide not less
than Two Thousand Pounds, annually.

The ride or walk along the coast from MOUSE-
IIOLE to NEWLYN is highly interesting. The
former town which is situated about two miles
south-west of Penzance ; and half a mile from
Paul Church-town, contains about six hundred
inhabitants. There is a small Pier capable of
admitting vessels of one hundred tons burthen ;
but it is chiefly used as a harbour for the nume-
rous fishing boats.

* A History of the Pilchard Fishery will be presented to our
readers in the Excursion to Saint Ives.

Mousehole and Newly n. 117

NEWLY N, with respect to population, exceeds
by one-third that of Mousehole. It has a com-
modious pier, which is also usually occupied by
the fishing boats of the place, which exceed four
hundred in number. In the cliff-road between
these villages, we pass a platform, which during
the late war was a battery, forming a security to
the bay from any privateers that might visit it.
Adjoining this battery stands a furnace for the
purpose of heating the shot. It was under the
direction of a small party of the Royal Artil-
lery.

The Geologist in performing this part of the
excursion will have much to observe. About
one hundred yards west of Mousehole, the clay-
slate ceases, and the granite commences. At
this junction numerous granite veins, varying in
width from about a foot to less than an inch, pass
tli rough the slate.* A little farther west, a cavern
may be observed in the cliff, which has evidently
been produced by the decomposition of the walls
of an old Adit. In this cavern the Mineralogist
has found good specimens of Eisenkeisel, or Iron

flint : but we will conclude, for our tourist

must be wearied by the length of the excursion ;

* See Mr. Majendie's interesting account of this phenomenon in
the first volume of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

118 Conclusion of the Excursion.

tomorrow we shall be again prepared to accom-
pany him in a different direction, and to point
out a succession of fresh objects, when antiqui-
ties, minerals, and picturesque views will, in
their turn, again present themselves for his ex-
amination.

Brtwttn Peazance, and Sury

Nanceahernc — Poltair — Trcngwainlon. 1 19

EXCURSION III.

TO BOTALLACK MINE; CAPE CORNWALL; AND THE
MINING DISTRICT OF SAINT JUST.

To exhibit the greatest variety of interesting
objects, in the least possible space and time, may
be said to constitute the essential excellence of a
11 Guide" For the accomplishment of such a
purpose we now proceed to conduct the stranger
to Botallack Mine and Cape Cornwall, through
the Parishes of Madron, Morvah, and Saint Just.

In our road to the village of Madron, or
Madron Church-town, as it is commonly called,
we pass Nancealverne, the estate of John Scobell
Esq., Poltair, the residence of Edward Scobell
Esq., and Trengwainton the seat of Sir Rose
Price, Bart. At this latter place considerable
exertions have been made to raise plantation?,
and to clothe the granitic hills behind it with
wood ; and from the progress already made, we
feel sanguine in the ultimate success of the enter-

120 Pictures by Opie.

prize. Amongst the pictures in the possession of
the worthy Baronet are several of the earlier
productions of Opie. The head of an aged beg-
gar, by that artist, has frequently excited our
admiration, and presents a characteristic specimen
of the native simplicity and expression of his
style, and the magic force of his chiaro-scuro.
This head was painted also under circumstances,
a knowledge of which cannot fail to heighten its
interest. The father of Sir Rose having been
struck by the venerable aspect of an aged mendi-
cant as he was begging in the streets of Penzance,
immediately sent for Opie, then residing in the
town, and expressed a desire that the young
artist should paint his portrait. The beggar was
accordingly regaled with a bounteous meal upon
the occasion, and Opie appears to have caught
his expression at the happy moment, when like
the " Last Minstrel" of our northern bard,

" Kindness had his wants supplied

And the old man was gratified."

The Villag-e of Madron is about two miles to
the north-west of Penzance. The church is
placed on an elevated situation, and commands
a very striking view of Saint Michael's Mount,
and its bay, Penzance is a Chapelry of this
parish.

Madron mil. 121

MADRON WELL is situated in a moor about a
mile and a half from the Church-town. It is
enclosed within walls, which were partially de-
stroyed in the time of Cromwell, by Major Ceeley
of St. Ives, but the remains of them are still suf-
ficiently entire to exhibit the form of an ancient
Baptistry. * The inner wall with its window
and door-way, and the altar with a square hole
or socket in the centre, which received the foot of
the cross or image of the patron saint, are still
perfect. The foundation of the outer wall, or
anti-room, may be traced with great ease.

Superstition has, of course, attributed many
virtues to waters which had been thus hallowed,
and this Well, like that of Chapel Euny, has been
long celebrated for its medicinal efficacy in restor-
ing motion and activity to cripples, t Baptism
was administered only at the stated times of Easter
and Whitsuntide ; but, at all seasons, the virtues
of the waters attracted the lame and the impo-
tent ; and the altar was at hand to assist the
devotion of their prayers, as well as to receive
the offerings of their gratitude.

* Baptistries were continued out of the church until the sixth
century.

•r The learned Bishop Hall in his work entitled " The Mystery of
Godliness," bears ample testimony to the medicinal efficacy of this
water in restoring motion and activity to cripples.

122 Lanyon Cromlech.

Chemical analysis has been unable to detect in
this water the presence of any active ingredient
that might explain the beneficial operation attri-
buted to it.

In the road to Morvah we meet with the cele-
brated Cromlech* at Lanyon. It is placed on a
prominent hill, and from its lonely situation, and
the wildness of the country by which it is sur-
rounded, it cannot fail to inspire sensations of
reverential awe in every one who approaches
it. t This rude monument has been long known
amongst the country people by the appellation
of the "Giant's Quoit.1" When the last edition
of this " Guide" went to the press it was still
standing in its original position, and was thus
described. It consists of three unshapen pillars

* Cromlech in the Cornish language signified a crooked stone.

+ This ancient monument is faithfully depicted in the frontis-
piece of the present work ; but we are in candour bound to acknow-
ledge that, in the introduction of Saint Michael's Mount, the
artist has availed himself of the '• quidlibet audendf so universally
conceded to Painters and Poets ; in reality, an intervening emi-
nence obstructs the view of the Mount from this spot, and he has
therefore, upon the present occasion, just taken the liberty to
remove this barrier to our vision. If the Geological tourist con-
demn this harmless deviation from truth, we shall recriminate by
reminding him that even Geologists have sometimes appropriated
to themselves an indulgence which Horace extended only to the
votaries of the Muses, and have not hesitated to overlook the ex-
istence of a mountain where it stood in the way of a favourite
theory.

Conjectures respecting its origin. 123

inclining from the perpendicular, which support
a large table stone (resembling a Discus or Quoit)
in a horizontal position, the direction of which
is nearly north and south. The flat stone is 47
feet in girth, and 12 in length, and its height
from the ground is sufficient to enable a man on
horseback to pass under it — The aged monu-
ment, however, has at length bent beneath the
hand of time, and fallen on its side. Its down-
fall, which happened during a violent tempest,
occasioned a universal feeling of regret in the
country.

In the same tenement, about a quarter of a
mile west of Lanyon house, is another monument
of this kind, nearly as large as the former; and
It is singular that this should have been the only
Cromlech in Corwall which escaped the notice
of Dr. Borlase. It has fallen on its edge, but
is still entire.

All our notions respecting the origin and use
of these monuments are purely conjectural ; it
seems, however, very probable that they are the
most ancient in the world, erected possibly by
one of the first colonists which came into the
island. As Cromlechs are known to abound in
every country where the Celts established them-
selves, many antiquaries have concluded that

124 Men-an-Tol.

they are of Celtic origin. The same doubt and
uncertainty involve every consideration with re-
spect to their use; it has been a general idea
that they were intended for altars, but the upper
stone is evidently too gibbous ever to have ad-
mitted the officiating priest, or to have allowed
him to stand to overlook the fire, and the con-
sumption of the victim ; besides, what occasion
is there to suppose a Cromlech any thing more
than a sepulchral monument ? Is it not the most
natural and probable conclusion ? Indeed Mr.
Wright actually found a skeleton deposited un-
der one of them in Ireland, and it must strike
the most superficial observer that our modern
tombs are not very dissimilar to the former in
their construction, and probably derived their
form from a very ancient model.

MEN-AN-TOL. The next object of curiosity
consists of three stones on a triangular plane,
the middle one of which is perforated with a large
hole, and is called Men-an-Tol, i.e. the holed
stone. Dr. Borlase who, as we have often ob-
served, has recourse to the chisel of Druidism to
account for every cavity or crevice, conjectures
that it was appropriated to the rites of that
priesthood, and asserts, on the authority of a
farmer, that even in his time, it was deemed to

Men Skrt/fa. Its origin. 125

possess the power of healing those who would
crawl through it.

In a croft, about half a mile to the north-west
of Lanyon, lies a very ancient sepulchral stone,
called by the Cornish " Men Skryfa" i. e. the
Inscribed Stone. It is nine feet ten inches long,
and one foot eight inches broad ; the inscription
upon it is " Riolobran Cunoval Fil" which sig-
nifies Riolobran the Son of Cunoval lies buried
here.* With respect to the date of this monument,
all antiquaries agree in thinking that it must have
been engraven before the corruptions crept into
the Roman alphabet, such for instance as the
junction of the letters by unnatural links, or
when the down strokes of one were made to serve
for two, &c. This practice arose soon after the
Romans went off, and increased until the Saxon
letters were introduced at Athelstan's conquest.
The most striking deviation from the Roman
orthography to be observed in this monument is
in the cross stroke of the Roman N not being
diagonal as it ought to be, nor yet quite horizon-
tal as we find it in the sixth century ; and hence

* Before the beginning of the seventh century we are informed
by Strutt that it was held unlawful to bury the dead in the cities,
and that there were no church-yards. Anglo-Saxon sEra, vol. 1.
p. 69.

126 Chun Castle.

it is fair to assign to it a date antecedent to that
period.*

CHUN CASTLE, a prominent object in this
neighbourhood, is similar to Caerbran Round,
which has been described, except that the ruins
are more extensive, and less confused. The re-
mains occupy the whole area of a hill command-
ing a wide tract of country to the east, some low
grounds to the north and south, and the wide
expanded ocean to the west. Another Cromlech
may also be seen from this spot, and stands upon
the very line which divides the parishes of Mor-
vah and Saint Just; but it is far inferior to that
at Lanjon. We will now for awhile abandon
the contemplation of these faded monuments of
past ages, and proceed to the examination of a
rich and interesting field of mineralogical and
geological research. In introducing the stranger,
however, to the district of Saint Just, we must
repeat to him the caution with which Mr. Garnet

* There are several monumental inscriptions of the same kind
to be seen in Cornwall, but none so ancient as Men Skryfa. In
Barlowena bottom, for instance, as you pass from the church of
Gulval to that of Madron, there is one which is now converted into
a foot-bridge across a brook; if the antiquary examine the letters-
upon this stone, which he cannot conveniently do without getting
^der it, he will discover the corruptions alluded to in the text,
viz. the / in Filius linked to the L.

+ To the elaborate memoir, by Mr. Came, published in. the
second volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society

District of St. Just. 127

has very prudently accompanied his history of its
mineral productions. "If the stranger on his
arrival shall expect to find any of the minerals so
prominently situated as to salute his eyes at
once; or if he shall suppose that those objects
which are especially worthy of notice in a geolo-
gical point of view, are to be discovered and
examined in the space of a few hours, he will be
greatly mistaken and disppointed ; for very few,
either of the minerals or the veins are to be found
in situ, except by a diligent, patient, and per-
severing search."

Without further delay we shall now attend the
traveller to Pendeen Cove; in our road to which,
the only objects worthy attention are the Stamp-
ing Mills, and Burning Houses or Roasting Fur-
naces, belonging to Botallack Mine. They are
situated on the bank of the river which runs into
the sea at Pendeen Cove. The Tin ore of Botal-
lack is generally mixed with a portion of Sulphu-
ret of Copper, which not being separable from it
by the mechanical process of dressing, is sub-
mitted to the action of a roasting furnace, by
which the Copper being converted into an oxide,

of Cornwall, and entitled " On the Mineral Productions, and the
Geology of the Parish of Saint Just," we would especially direct
the attention of the scientific traveller.

128 Pendeen Cave, or Van.

and the Sulphur into Sulphuric acid, a Sulphate
of Copper is thus produced, which is easily sepa-
rated by washing. The solution obtained is then
poured into casks, containing pieces of iron, by
the agency of which the Copper is prtcipitated.*

There is to be seen at Pendeen^ a cave, known
by the name of Pendeen F««, and concerning
which there are many ridiculous stories. It ap-
pears to have been one of those hiding places in
which the Britons secreted themselves, and their
property, from the attacks of the Saxons and
Danes. The cave is still almost entire, a circum-
stance which is principally owing to the super-
stitious fears of the inhabitants, many of whom,
at this very day, entertain a dread of entering it.

At Pendeen Cove, the Geologist will meet with
several phenomena well worthy his attention.
At the junction of the Slate and Granite, veins
of the latter will be observed traversing the for-
mer rock, and what is particularly worthy of
notice, they may he seen emanating from a great
mass of granite and passing into the schistose rock
by which it is covered. One part of the cliff of

* The quantity of Copper procured in this way at Botallack,
says Mr. Came, is about a ton in a year. This chemical process is
now practised in most of the mines in which the " Tin-stone" is
mixed with Copper ore, as in Dolcoath, Cook's Kitchen, Chace-
water, and in some parts of St. Agnes.

Geology of the Gurnard's Head. 129

this cove consists of large fragments of granite
imbedded in clay and earth ; the interstices of
which are filled with white sand, which has been
probably blown there from the beach ; through
this sand, water impregnated with iron is slowly
percolating, the effect of which is the induration
of the sand, and the formation of a breccia, which
in some parts has acquired very considerable
hardness.

Before proceeding to the metalliferous district
of Saint Just, we may observe that, if the tra-
veller's object be to reach Saint Ives by the road
along the cliffs, through the parish of Zennor, he
will meet with a most cheerless country, but by
no means destitute of geological interest. He
ought particularly to examine a bold rocky pro*
montory, called the " Gurnard's Head" where
he will find a succession of beds of slaty felspar,
hornblende rock, and greenstone. The geology
of this headland has been accurately described
by Dr. Forbes in the second volume of the Trans-
actions of the Royal Geological Society of Corn-
wall. Polmear Cone ought also to be visited on
account of the Granite veins, which are perhaps
as singular and interesting as any of those already
described. — But let us proceed to complete our
examination of the coast of Saint Just. Many of
i

130 Sub-marine Mines.

the mines are situated on the very edge of the
cliff, and are wrought to a considerable distance
under the sea ; but all communication to them
is from land.* For a description of the nume-
rous minerals found in this district, t we must
refer the reader to the highly valuable paper by
Joseph Carne, Esq. which is published in the
second volume of the Transactions of the Royal
Geological Society of Cornwall. We cannot, how-
ever, allow the mineralogist to pass Trewellard,
without reminding him that, at this spot, Axinite
was first discovered in Cornwall, and that the
most beautifully crystallized specimens of that
mineral, scarcely inferior to those brought from
Dauphine, may still be procured here. In the
cliff at Huel Cock Cam, a vein of this mineral,
of a violet colour, three feet in width, may be
traced for upwards of twenty yards ; and in its
vicinity there is to be found also a vein of garnet
rock. Apatite, of a greyish- white colour, asso-
ciated with Hornblende, may be seen in the same
spot. In the slate rocks between Huel Cock and

* The principal sub-marine mines on this part of the coast are
Levant; Tolvaen; Huel Cock ; and Huel Castle; Copper Mines 5
and Praze* Little Bounds ; Riblose ; Huel St. Just; Tin Mines ;
and Botallack Tin and Copper Mine.

t A miner of the name of James Walt, who resides in the village
<if Carnyorth, has generally a variety of these minerals for sale.

Minerals recently discovered. 131;

Botallack, Prehnite has lately been found, for.
the first time ; it appears to form a small vein,
which in one part is divided into two branches.
Upon the discovery of the above mineral, says
Mr. Joseph Came, an expectation was naturally
formed, that Zeolite^ its frequent associate, and
an equal stranger to Cornwall, might shortly
make its appearance. This opinion has been
lately verified by the discovery of, at least, two
varieties of that mineral, imbedded in i\\&Prehnite
vein, viz. Stilbite, or foliated Zeolite, crystallized
in flat four-sided prisms, with quadrangular sum-
mits ; and the radiated Mesott/pe, which some-
times contains nodules nf Prehnite. Other spe-
cimens have been found in rather an earthy state,
and may possibly be the mealy Zeolite of Jameson.
In the same slate rocks Apatite occurs of a yel-
lowish-green colour, and crystallized in hexaedral
prisms. In the granite rocks on the high hills
south-east of Trewellard, Pinite is to be observed.
We arrive at the " Crown Engine" of Bor
tallack —

" How fearful

And dizzy 'tis to cast one's e.yes so low,
The crows and choughs, that wing the midway air

Show scarce so gross as beetles :

I'll look no more,

Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.*'

138 Extraordinary Scenery

This is undoubtedly one of the most extraordi-
nary jand surprising places in the mining districts
of Cornwall, whether considered for the rare and
rich assemblage of its minerals, or for the wild
and stupendous character of its rock scenery.
Surely, if ever a spot seemed to bid defiance to
the successful efforts of the miner, it was the site
of the Crown Engine* at Botallack, where at the
very commencement of his subterranean labours,
he was required to lower a steam engine down a
precipice of more than two hundred feet, with
the view of extending his operations under the
bed of the Atlantic ocean ! ! ! There is something
in the very idea which alarms the imagination ;
and the situation and appearance of the gigantic
machine, together with the harsh jarring of its
bolts, re-echoed from the surrounding rocks, are
well calculated to excite our astonishment.

But if you are thus struck and surprised at the
scene when viewed from the cliff above, how
much greater will be your wonder if you descend

* " Crown Engine" so named from its vicinity to three rocks
called the " Three Crowns."

It was our intention to have presented the reader with an en-
graving of this extraordinary scene, and indeed measures had been
taken for its accomplishment, when we were induced to abandon
the design on learning that a lithographic print had been pub-
lished by a meritorious and self-taught artist at Penzance, the sale
of which we were anxious not to diminish.

of Botallack Mine. 133

to the surface of the mine. You will then behold
a combination of the powers of art with the wild
sublimity of Nature which is quite unparalleled;
the effects of the whole being not a little height-
ened by the hollow roar of the raging billows
which are perpetually lashing the cliff beneath.
In looking up you will observe troops of mules
laden with sacks of coals, for the supply of the
engine, with their undaunted riders, fearlessly
trotting down the winding path which you trem-
bled at descending even on foot. As you ap-
proach the engine, the cliff becomes almost per-
pendicular, and the ore raised from the mine is
therefore drawn up over an inclined plane,* by
means of a horse engine placed on the extreme
verge of the overhanging rocks above, and which
seems to the spectator below as if suspended in
« mid air."

The workings of this mine extend at least
seventy fathoms in length under the bed of the
sea; and in these caverns of darkness are many
human beings, for a small pittance, and even that
of a precarious amount, constantly digging for
ore, regardless of the horrors which surround
them, and of the roar of the Atlantic ocean, whose
boisterous waves are incessantly rolling over their

* This apparatus is termed " The Shammel Whim"

134 Crown Engine.

lieatls. We should feel pity for the wretch who,
as an atonement for his crimes, should be com-
pelled to undergo the task which the Cornish
miner voluntarily undertakes, and as cheerfully
performs ; yet such is the force of habit, that very
rarely does any other employment tempt him to
forsake his own ; the perils of his occupation are
scarcely noticed, or if noticed, are soon forgotten.
The I&de* of the mine may be seen cropping
out, in the group of rocks beneath the engine.
The ore is the grey and yellow sulphuret of cop-
per, mixed with the oxide of tin,t of which she%
has already " turned up" a sufficient quantity to
afford a very handsome premium to the adven-
turers. In the grey sulphuret of this mine, pur-
ple copper ore, of the kind called by the Germans
" Buntkupfererz," is frequently met with. Be-
sides which, a great number of interesting mine-
rals may be collected, as several varieties of
Jasper ; arborescent native Copper ; Jaspery iron
ore; Arseniate of Iron, which until it was dis-
covered in the Crown lode of Botallack, was un-

* A metalliferous vein is provincially called a Lode.

t The tin and copper are in a state of mechanical mixture,
although Dr. Boose has lately found amongst the heaps, a speci-
men of " Tin Pyrites," in which these metals are chemically
combined.

| The miners always distinguish their mines by a feminine
Appellation.

Minerals found there. 133

known in St. Just. It is of a brown colour, and is
crystallized in cubes. Sulphuret of Bismuth, im-
bedded in Jasper ; beautiful specular iron ore /
hcematitic Iron ; and the hydrous oxide of iron, in
prisms terminated by pyramids, and which was
supposed by the Count de Bournon to contain
Titanium. The picturesque rocks of this district
may be considered as composed of Hornblende
rock, which will be found to alternate with slate.
The contorted appearance of the former in the
vicinity of Botallack is very singular, and will
admit of much speculation. The Crown rocks,
to which the mineralogist must not neglect to
descend, consist of extremely compact Hornblende
rock, in which occur numerous veins and beds of
different minerals; viz. veins of Garnet rock, with
numerous imbedded crystals, being at one part
almost a foot in width; Magnetic Iron Pyrites,
massive, in beds, near the engine ; its colour is
bluish-grey, and it is called by the workmen
Spelter, who mistake it probably for Blende,
which latter mineral also occurs here in conside-
rable quantities. In a part of the rock, which is
almost inaccessible, there is a vein of Epidote,
distinctly crystallized, and about six inches wide.
The miners, however descend the fearful precipice
without any difficulty, in order to collect speci-

136 Cape Cornwall.

mens for the inquisitive visitant. Axinile also
occurs in veins, or perhaps in beds ; Thallite, Chlo-
rite^ Tremolite, and a black crystallized Schorl, in
which the late Rev. William Gregor detected six
per cent, of Titanium, are to be found also in this
interesting spot.

CAPE CORNWALL is the next object of interest
after Botallack. This point of land stretches out
tp the west, at an elevation of two hundred and
thirty feet, and forms the northern boundary of
Whitsand Bay (p. 88). It is entirely composed
of a slaty rock, traversed by numerous veins of
Actinolite. To the geologist this spot will be
interesting, since on the shore beneath, a junction
may be observed between the Granite of the
Land's End, and the slate of this promontory.*
These formations are separated by a large vein
of metalliferous quartz, which forms the lode of
the mine in the neighbourhood, called " Little
Bounds" and whose engine suspended in the
cliff" above, constitutes a very striking feature in
the scenery. This vein, besides Oxide of Tin,
for which it is worked, contains Native Copper,
different Oxides of Iron, Red Jasper, Quartz of a
bright brownish red colour, and Scaly red Iron

* See a paper by Dr. John Davy, in the first volume of the
Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, entitled
*k On the Granite Veins of Perth Just.''

Little Bounds Mine. 137

ore, sometimes investing Quartz, and occasionally
in small masses consisting of red cohering scales,
which are unctuous to the touch.

Mr. Carne states, that in this mine three dis-
tinct lodes, distant from each other, have been
worked under the sea; two of them being in
granite, the third in slate. Here also, at two
parts of the lode, known by the name of " Save-
aU's lode" probably, as the name would seem to
imply, in consequence of the avarice of the miner,
a communication has been made between the sea
and the mine; one of them is at about high water
mark at spring tides ; the other is covered by the
sea at every tide, except at very low neaps ; great
and constant attention is therefore necessary for
the security of this latter breach. At first the
opening was stopped by a piece of wood covered
with turf; but as this defence was not found to
be sufficiently secure, a thick platform caulked
like the deck of a ship, was ultimately placed
upon it, and which renders it nearly water proof.
The breaking of the waves is heard in all the
levels of the mine, and in the part directly be-
neath the pebbly beach, the rolling of the stones
in boisterous weather produces a most terrific
effect. In the drift at the forty fathom level,
which is carried a considerable way under the

138 Formation of Stalactites.

sea, Mr. Chenhalls, the intelligent agent of the,
mine, had formerly observed a successive forma-
tion of Stalactites ; in consequence of which state-
ment, Dr. John Davy and Mr. Majendie were
induced to visit the spot. It had been closed for
two years previously, but before it was shut up
Mr. Chenhalls had carefully removed all the
Stalacites which then existed. Upon examination
it was observed that a fresh crop had been pro-
4Jluced during the interval just stated; some of
which were eighteen inches in length, and above
an inch in diameter. The Stalagmites directly
underneath them were of still larger dimensions;
both however had the same yellowish-brown co-
lour, and were found to consist of Peroxide of
iron. Specimens may be seen in the cabinet at
Penzance. Dr. Paris has suggested that they
resulted from the decomposition of Pyrites, form-
ing, in the first instance, a soluble Sulphate of
iro«, but which, by attracting farther oxygen,
deposited its base in the form here discovered.

At a little distance southward of Cape Corn-
wall, is a high rocky promontory called CABA-
GLOSE HEAD, from which the traveller may
command one of the most interesting views in
this part of Cornwall. On the north are Cape
Cornwall, and the romantic machinery of Little

Caraglose Head. Its Scenery. 139

Bounds Mine. Southward and directly under the
head, the interesting creek called POKNANVON
COVE, with the engine of Huel St. Just Tin
Mine near the sea shore. Westward, on a clear
day, the Scilly Islands may be distinctly seen,
This is a spot seldom visited by strangers, but
with the exception of Botallack, it is certainly
one of the most striking in the district of Saint
Just. At Pornanvon Cove, a stratum of sea sand
and pebbles may be seen in the cliff, at an eleva-
tion of fifteen feet above high water mark !

Advancing from the coast into the interior of
the country towards Saint Just's Church-town,
Dr. Berger observed many blocks of Schorl rock*
scattered on this part of the granitic plain, par-
ticularly amongst the rubbish of some old tin
mines, which are here very numerous, but are
now quite deserted. |t«»

SAINT JUST CHURCH TOWN. Nothing of any
interest is to be seen at this place, except a very

* This rock is a binary compound of Quartz and Schorl, with-
out any, or scarcely any, admixture of the other constituents of
Granite; and yet when we consider its various relations, it must be
regarded as rather a variety of the latter than a distinct rock. The
locality now mentioned and that singular group of rocks between
Truro and Bodmin, known by the name of Roach Rock, are, as far
as we know, the only places in Cornwall where this modification
of granite is found in mass. In the form of veins its occurrence is
not unusual, especially at the junction of granite and slate, where
it would often seem to exist as an intermediate rock.

140 Saint Just Church Town.

ancient cross, a sketch of which we shall intro-
duce at the conclusion of the present chapter;
and the remains of an ancient Amphitheatre.

In this, and similar " Rounds," as they are
provincially called, the ancient British assembled,
in order to witness those athletic sports, for which
the Cornish are still remarkable; indeed, at this
very day, Wrestling matches are held in the am-
phitheatre at Saint Just, during the holidays of
Easter and Whitsuntide.

The Antiquary ought not to quit this parish
without visiting the " Botallack Circles'," when
examined separately they do not differ essentially
from that at Bolleit, or at Boscawen Un before
described (p. 81); but they intersect each other
and form a confused cluster; " but in this seem-

•f The Cornish have ever been celebrated for their skill in the art
of Wrestling; hence the expression " To give one a Cornish Hug,"
which is a dexterous lock in that art peculiar to them. It must,
however, be admitted, whether as a matter of triumph or humilia-
tion, we will not declare, that the Cornish have greatly declined
in their art, so as to be now inferior even to the Devonians, and to
the inhabitants of many other districts in their prowess. This de-
generacy might perhaps be attributed to the change which has
taken place during the lapse of time, in the mode of working for
Tin ; formerly it was all procured by Streaming, an occupation as
healthy and invigorating, as the present one of subterranean mining
is debilitating. We apprehend, however, that a moral cause of
still greater force has contributed to the change — the diffusion ot'
Methodism; which has unquestionably proved a powerful instru-
ment in the amelioration of the habits and disposition of the Cornish

The Botallack Circles — The Cassiterides. 141

ing confusion," exclaims Dr. Borlase, " I cannot
but think that there was some mystical meaning,
or, at least, distinct allotment to particular uses ;
some of these might be employed for the sacrifice,
others allotted to prayer, others to the feasting
of the priests, others for the station of those who
devoted the victims ; and lastly, that these cir-
cles intersected each other in so remarkable a
manner, as we find them in this monument, might
be to intimate that each of these holy rites, though
exercised in different circles, were but so many
links of one and the same chain, and that there
was a constant dependance and connection be-
tween sacrifice, prayer, holy feasting, and all the
several -parts of Druidical worship."

In taking leave of the metalliferous district of
Saint Just we have to observe, that it has been
considered by Mr. Carne, and not without pro-
bability, as having constituted the principal por-
tion of what was formerly known under the name
of the Cassiterides^ and that if it would redound
to the honour, or contribute to the prosperity of
Saint Just, it might be said, " that her Tin was
probably a constituent part of the Shield and
Helmet of Achilles, — of the Tabernacle of the
Israelites, — of the Purple of Tyre, — and of the
Temple of Solomon."

142 St. Just.

From Saint Just's Church-town, the road con-
ducts us over a wild part of the peninsula, al-
though highly salubrious, and invigorating from
the fine sea breezes which blow from every side;

^

after a ride over such bleak and barren hills, the
eye experiences a singular repose on our ap-
proach to the cultivated shores of the Mount's
Bay.

Saint Just.

:..

„

Kenegie— -Rosmor ran. 143

EXCURSION IV.

PASSING through the little village of Chyan-
dour, we ascend by a shady road through that of
Gulval, to Kenegie,* the seat of the family of
John Arundel Harris Arundel, Esq. This spot
commands a very interesting- view of the Mount's
Bay, the beauty of which is greatly heightened
by the diversified and picturesque foreground.
On a neighbouring hill is Rosmorran^ the re-
tired cottage ornee of George John, Esq. of Pen-
zance ; we scarcely know a situation where the
skill of the landscape gardener could be exerted
with greater advantage or effect.

Pursuing the road, and passing the gate of
Kenegie, we ascend the great granite range
which extends from Dartmoor to the Land's
End, and which appears, in this part of the

* Kenegie became the seat of the younger branch of Harris of
Heyne, in about the year 1600.

144 Castle an Dinas.

country, to be broken into a number of detached
groups. Upon the summit of one of these hills
stands a castellated building which, although of
modern construction, occupies the site of an an-
cient " hill castle, called " Castle an Dinas ;" it
was erected by John Rogers, Esq., as a pictu-
resque object from his occasional residence at
Treassowe.

On descending the northern side of the granite
ridge, a curious atmospheric phenomenon is fre-
quently observable, — the clear and cloudless sky
becoming suddenly dense and hazy ; the change
is evidently occasioned by the condensation of
the vapours contained in the warm and rarefied
air of the Mount's Bay, by the colder one which
blows from the Bristol channel. Amidst wild
and rugged hills the road winds to Saint Ives, in
the course of which, the geologist will have
many opportunities of furnishing his portfolio
with sketches, in illustration of the changes
which time and weather produce on Granite;
hugh blocks of this stone lie scattered on all
sides, while stupendous masses are seen on the
hills above in different stages of decomposition,
and which from their threatening attitude, would
appear as if in preparation to join their former
companions in the plains below.

Saint Ives. 145

SAINT IYES. This populous sea port and
borough stands on the shores of the Bristol Chan-
nel, in a very fine bay bounded by bold rocks of
Greenstone and Slate. The latter of these rocks
is in many places undergoing rapid decompo-
sition, in consequence of which large masses of
the Hornblende rock have fallen in various di-
rections, and given a singular character of pictu-
resque rudeness to the scene : this is remarkably
striking in the group of rocks which constitute
Godrevy Island.

Saint Ives is a populous sea port, of very con-
siderable antiquity, deriving its name from that
of Ha, a religious woman, who came hither from
Ireland in about the year 460. The Corporation,
which obtained its powers from a charter granted
by Charles the First, consists of a mayor, record-
er, town-clerk, twelve capital burgesses, and
twenty-four inferior burgesses. The Borough
returns two members to Parliament, a privilege
which was conferred in the fifth year of Queen
Mary ; and the right of election was vested in
all the householders in the parish paying scot
and lot. In the year 1816, the magistrates, and
trustees of the Pier and Port of Saint Ives re-
solved to extend the former, and to construct a
breakwater, in order to shelter it. The under-
K

146 The Pilchard Fishery.

taking has been commenced, but it is at present
far from being completed^

Saint Ives is the birth place of the Reverend
Jonathan Toup, Rector of Saint Martin's near
Looe, the learned ann'otator of Suidas, and editor
of Longinus. His father was formerly the lec-
turer of this town.

On no part of the Cornish coast is the Pilchard
fishery carried on with greater activity or suc-
cess1?; and at the time of large draughts, it is
usual for all the inhabitants to contribute their
assistance ; shops and dwelling-houses are fre-
quently deserted on such occasions, and even the
church has been abandoned, when large shoals
have made their appearance on the Sabbath !
By a certain signal given by a person stationed
on the heights, the approach of a shoal is gene-
rally announced to the town ; the effect is most
singular. Trumpets are immediately heard in
different parts, and the inhabitants rushing from
their houses, and quitting their 'ordinary occu-
pations, are to be seen running in all directions,
and vociferating the word " ffever — //erer—
He^er" — What the term signifies, or whence it
was derived, no one can conjecture, but its sound
is no less animating to the ears of a Saint Ives-
man, than is the cry of " To Arms," to the Son

The Pilchard Fishery. 147

of Mars; and the tumult which it excites is more
like that of a besieged city, than the peaceable
and joyful bustle of an industrious fishing town.

As we have not hitherto described the manner
in which the Pilchard Fishery is conducted, per-
haps the present will be an appropriate oppor-
tunity.

The Pilchard, in size and form, very much
resembles the common Herring,* and is actually
confounded with it by Linnaeus, under the name
of" Clupcea Harengus'," upon close inspection,
however, an essential difference may be readily
discovered. The Pilchard is less compressed, as
well as smaller; there is besides a very simple,
and common test of distinction, depending upon
the dorsal fin of the Pilchard being placed ex-
actly in the centre of gravity, if therefore it be
taken up by this fin, it will preserve an equili-
brium ; while the body of the Herring, when so
tried, will dip towards the head. Mr. Pennant
likewise observes that the scales of the latter
easily drop off, whereas those of the Pilchard
adhere very closely.

It has been commonly stated that these fish

* There is also a very considerable similarity in their mode of
migration. The word Herring is derived from the German "//«er,"
an Army, to express their numbers, and order of array.

148 The Pilchard Fishery.

migrate from the North sea in immense shoals,
during- the summer months, and reach the Cor-
nish coast about the middle of July, where they
remain until the latter end of September, when
they again depart to the arctic regions. This
statement, however, cannot be correct, as the
fish are never seen off the coasts of Scotland, the
northern shores of Ireland, the Isle of Man, nor,
in fact, off any coast north of Cornwall. It
would therefore seem more probable, that they
come from some part of the Western ocean, and
return thither at the end of the season. Within
the last ten years a considerable alteration in
their usual course has taken place, much to the
disappointment of the Cornish Fishermen; they
have kept at a greater distance from the shores ;
whether this circumstance has arisen from their
food being farther than usual out at sea, or from
any alteration in the currents, it is impossible to
ascertain. In the present year, however, they
seem to have returned to Saint Ives; an immense
Quantity, calculated at three thousand hogsheads,
having been taken at one " ca/c/i," by two Seines
in this bay. The other parts of the coast have
been visited only by very small shoals.

The preparations for this fishery are generally

The Pilchard Fishery. 149

commenced about the end of July,* as the period
at which the Pilchards are expected to pay their
annual visit. As they usually make their ap-
pearance here in the evening, the boats engaged
in the adventure seldom go to sea before three or
four o'clock in the afternoon, and as rarely re-
main longer than ten. On some occasions, how-
ever, they go out again very early in the morn-
ing, and have sometimes succeeded in taking fish
at sun rise. The fishermen, arranged in boats
which are scattered at a little distance from each
other, are directed to the shoals by persons who
are stationed on the cliffs, or who sometimes
follow in boats. These persons vyho are called
" Jitters," probably from the hue and cry which
they raise, discover them by the peculiar red
tintt which the water assumes, and from other

* The first outfit of a Seine, with its boats, oars, ropes, sails,
nets, and a quantity of salt sufficient to cure five hundred hog-
sheads of fish, if purchased new, cannot be estimated at less than
a Thousand pounds. The preparations for the water consists of
three boats, i. e. two large ones and a small one ; each large boat
containing seven men, and in the small one are the master, another
man, and two boys. The " Seine Boat " and the " Follower" are
the names by which the two large boats are distinguished ; and
the small one is called the " Lurker."

+ The whiteness of the sand in the Bay of St. Ives renders t!ie
shoals of fish easily distinguishable, and contributes very ^reat.y
to the success of the fishery upon this coast.

The Pilchard Fishery.

indications with which they are well acquainted.*
The spot where the nets should be cast, or " shot"
having been determined from the signals of the
Huer" the boat containing the great net or " Stop
Seine" as it is called, and which is frequently as
much as 300 fathoms in length, and 10 in depth,
is gradually cast from the boat into the sea by
two men, as the vessel is gently rowed round the
shoal by others of the crew ; a service which is
performed with such dexterity that in less than
four minutes the whole of this enormous net is
shot, and the fish enclosed. Upon this occasion
it is always the first care of the Seiner to secure
that part to which the fish were swimming ; and
then so to carry the net around them, that they
shall be hemmed in on every side. The net im-
mediately spreads itself, the corks on one edge
rendering it buoyant, and the leaden weights on
the other causing it to sink to the bottom ; for if
the depth of the water should exceed that of the
Seine, it is evident that there would be little

* The Tunny fish in the Archipelago was caught by a similar
process, " Ascendebat quidam (Anglice the JF/uer, Graece Thun-
noscopoi) in ultum promontorium, unde Thunnorum gregem spe-
cularetur, quo viso, signum piscatoribus dabat, qui ratibus totuiu
gregem includebant." Vide Klomfield's Notes on the Pertte of
Eschylus, p. 148. The seine was as familiar to the Athenians, as
the Pilchard fishery is to the inhabitants of Cornwall; and it i»
•aid that Egcliylu* took great delight in witnessing it.

The Pilchard Fishery. 151

probability of securing any fish, however large
the shoal might be. As the circle in which the
Seine is shot, is generally larger than the net can
compass, its two extremities are at a distance
from each other when the whole is in the water.
Ropes are therefore carried out from each of
these ends, by which they are warped together
by the men on board the two large boats, so as to
bring them into contact. When this is effected,
the two extremities, if the shoal be large, are
lifted from the bottom, and expeditiously tacked
together. During this last operation every me-
thod is adopted to agitate the water, and drive
back the body of fish from this only aperture
through which they can escape. This having
been accomplished, the fish remain within the
enclosure formed by the encircling net, which
extends from the surface to the bottom of the
sea. It only now remains to secure the Seine in
its position, for which purpose grapnels, or small
anchors, are carried out at some distance on
every side, the ropes from which are fastened to
the rope at the upper end of the net ; these grap-
nels will of course retain the Seine in its circular
position, and preserve it against the influence of
the tides, and the changes of the weather. Where,
however, the shore is sandy and shelving, as in

152 The Pilchard Fishery.

Saint Ives' Bay, the Seine is at once drawn into
shallow water by a number of men, who are
called " Blowsers"

The quantity of fish which is thus secured will
depend of course on many contingent circum-
stances, such for instance, as the strength of the
tides, the nature of the coast, and the dexterity
of the fishermen, &c. A Seine has sometimes
enclosed as many as fifteen hundred, or two
thousand hogsheads. The next operation is to
remove the fish from the Seine, and to convey
them in boats to the shore. This is performed
by another smaller net, termed a " Tuck net"
and the process is called " Tucking," and is a
sight which the stranger should not, on any ac-
count, neglect to witness. This busy scene al-
ways takes place at low water, and when it hap-
pens on one of those calm evenings which so
frequently occur in the summer season, it is im-
possible to imagine a more exquisite scene. The
moon shedding her lustre on the sea displays its
surface covered with vessels, sailing or rowing
in all directions to the Seine, whilst her beams
by striking upon the dripping fish as they are
poured, by baskets, from the tuck net into boats,*

* The boats which attend for the purpose of conveying the fish
from the tuck net to the shore are termed " Dippera,'" the proprie-

The Curing oj Pilchards. 153

produce an appearance which resembles a stream
of liquid silver.

There is another mode of catching: Pilchards

o

by " Driving Nets"* which are drawn aftet
their respective boats, fastened only at one end;
in the meshes of which the fish are arrested as
they attempt to pass. This -species of fishery is
always carried on at a considerable distance from
the shore, lest, by approaching too near the land
they should disperse the shoals which the Seiner
is waiting to enclose. The quantity thus taken
is very small ; but the fish are remarkably fine,
and the expense of the adventure is comparatively
trifling.

The fish, having been brought to the fish cel-
lars, undergo the process of being " cured;11
which is performed by laying them up in broad
piles, " in bull:" as it is called, and salting them
as they are piled up, with bay salt. In this situa-
tion they generally remain for forty days, although
the time allowed for their lying in bulk is often

tors of which are differently compensated in different places ; they
cither leceive a certain proportion of the fish, as from one-fourth to
one-sixth, according to the distance from the shore, or else they
receive a certain sum of money for each boat load. When the fish
are caught in the night, fires are instantly kindled on the nearest
shore, as a signal for the boats in the bay to repair to the spot.

* These nets are of far greater antiquity than the Seine, Ihe lat-
ter ha\ing been introduced from Ireland.

154 The Curing of Pilchards.

regulated by the interests of the merchant, who,
it may be supposed, is ever ready to avail himself
of any favourable turn in the foreign markets.
The period directed by Government is that of
thirty-three days. During this process a great
quantity of oil, blood, and dirty pickle, drains
from the fish ; and which, from the inclination of
the floor, immediately find their way into a re-
ceptacle placed for their reception.* The Pil-
chards, when taken from the bulk, are carried to
large troughs, in which they are washed, and
completely cleansed from the salt, filth, and coa-
gulated oil which they had acquired. t They are
then packed into hogsheads, and pressed by a
strong lever, for the purpose of squeezing out the
oil, which issues through a hole at the bottom of
the cask ; the pressing continues for a week, and
formerly ten gallons of oil were procured from
every hogshead, but at this time, not more than
four can be obtained ; such a change in the fat-
ness of the fish is not easily to be explained. The
hogsheads are now headed up, and exported to
the different ports of the Mediterranean, princi-

* These dregs are sold to the curriers, at about sixteen pence
per gallon.

t The skimmings which float on the water in which the pilchards
are washed, bear the name of Garbage, and are sold to the soap-
boilers.

(Economical importance of the Fishery. 155

pally to the Italian ports; and upon every hogs-
head so exported, Government allows a bounty
of 8s6d. Upwards of 30,000 hogsheads are an-
nually consumed in England ; and above 100,000
have been exported in one year. The quantity
of salt necessary to cure a hogshead of fish is es-
timated at about 300 Ibs. and the expense of the
whole for that quantity, including the cask, salt,
labour, &c. is from *Gl :3s to *8l : 6s ; and it has
been calculated that the bounty, together with
the value 'of the oil (from j£20 to rf28 per ton),
will in general reimburse the whole expense.

This fishery is in every respect of the highest
importance to the county of Cornwall, affording
employment to at least twelve thousand persons,*
whilst the capital engaged cannot be fairly esti-
mated at less than three hundred and fifty, or
four hundred thousand pounds.

The broken and refuse fish are sold at about
lOd per bushel, for manure, arid are used through-
out the county with excellent effects, especially

* In salting, packing, pressing, and preparing the fish for the
market, there are at least 5000, 4-5ths of which are women ; the
rope-makers, blacksmiths, shipwrights, &c. upwards of 400 ; the
twine spinners are women, about 130 in number ; the makers
and menders of nets are chiefly women and children, in all about
600. Nets are also made (hiring the winter season, by the fisher-
men and their families. These numbers are of course exclusive of
the seamen employed.'

156 The Herring Fishery.

for raising all green crops ; they are usually mix-
ed with sand, or soil, and sometimes with sea
weed, to prevent them from raising too luxuriant
a crop, arising from a too rapid decomposition ;
thus employed their effects are very permanent,
and there is a popular belief that a single pil-
chard will fertilize a foot square of land for
several years ; and certain it is, that after the
apparent exhaustion of this manure, its powers
may be again excited by ploughing in a small
proportion of quick lime, which will produce a
still further decomposition of the animal matter,
and develope a fresh succession of those elements
which are essential to the growth of vegetable
substances.

The Herring fishery is also carried on to a
great extent at Saint Jves; this fish appears after
the pilchard has quitted the shores, and is much
smaller than that which is caught on the northern
coasts of Britain ; which corroborates the general
opinion, that the farther it migrates to the south,
the more it decreases in size. It is also worthy
of remark that, notwithstanding the great abun-
dance of this fish in the Bristol Channel, it very
seldom passes the Land's End, and is conse-
quently rarely caught in the Mount's Bay, or on
the southern shores of Cornwall.

Tregenna Castle. Knill's Pyramid. 157

But let us return from this digression, and pro-
ceed with our excursion. —

Quitting Saint Ives by the eastern road, we
are conducted along an elevated cliff, which
affords a complete command of every object in
the bay ; in our route we pass Tregenna Castle^
the seat of Samuel Stephens, Esq. and on the
summit of a lofty hill, about a mile from this
mansion, stands a pyramid, which immediately
attracts the notice of the traveller, as well on
account of the singular wildness of its situation,
as the complete absence of every shrub, or rural
ornament, with which such objects are usually
associated. It was erected by the late eccentric
John Knill, Esq., a bencher of Gray's Inn, and
some time collector of the Port of Saint Ives, it
having been intended as a Mausoleum for the re-
ception of his remains, although he afterwards
revoked this intention, and ordered his body to
be given to an anatomist in London, for dissec-
tion. On one side of this pyramid is inscribed,
" Johannes Knill" on another, " Resurgam"
and on a third, " / know that my Redeemer
liveth." He directed in his will, that at the end
of every five years, a Matron and ten girls,
dressed in white, should walk in procession, with
music, from the market house at Saint Ives, to

158 ,b»K Quinquennial Celebration . ?

this pyramid, around which they should dance,
singing the hundredth Psalm!

— " Pueri circum innuptaeque puellae

Sacra canunt."

For the purpose of keeping up this custom, he
bequeathed some freehold lands, which are vested
in the officiating minister, the mayor, and the
collector of the port of Saint Ives, who are al-
lowed Ten Pounds for a dinner. The first cele-
bration of these Quinquennial rites excited, as
may easily be supposed, very considerable in-
terest throughout the western parts of the county.

" No tongue was mute, nor foot was still,
But One and All* were on the hill,
In chorus round the tomb of Knill."

The report which was drawn up at the time by
an eye witness of these festivities, exhibits such
an admirable specimen of the mock Heroic, that
we feel assured that the tourist will thank us for
having given insertion to it in the Appendix.

Pursuing the road along the cliff we pass Lelant
church, and arrive at the river Hayle, which
takes its rise near Crowan, and falls into Saint
Ives Bay; although it arrives at the level of the
sea three miles before it reaches the northern
coast, and winds its way through an area of sand,

* One and All) — the motto of the Cornish arms.

of the Knillian Games. 159

nearly half a mile wide, and more than two miles
long; this sand, at high water, is generally sub-
merged, so that the traveller who wishes to cross
is obliged to take a circuitous route over the
bridge at Saint Erlh ; but upon the ebbing of
the tide, it soon becomes fordable, and may be
passed over even by foot passengers. It is a
curious circumstance that at twelve o'clock at
noon, and at midnight, it is always fordable;
this apparent paradox is solved by knowing, that
at Spring tides it is always low water at these
hours, and that the Neap tides never rise suf-
ficiently high to impede the passage.

The Port of Hayle is situated on the eastern
side of the river, where a great trade is carried
on with Wales for timber, coals,* iron, and lime-
stone ; and with Bristol, for earthen-ware, gro-
ceries, &c. It is also one of the principal places
of export for the copper ore of the western mines*
In the former edition of this work we described
the processes by which the smelling and refining
of Copper were conducted at this place, but as it
was acknowledged to be much cheaper to carry
the ore to the coal, than to bring the coal to the
ore, the proprietors found themselves compelled

* Cornwall is exempted from the payment of any duties on coal,
so far as it is used for the working of the mines.

ICO Port of Hayle.

to abandon the speculation. The buildings in
the neighbourhood, however, still continue as
memorials of the former existence of such works,
having been constructed with square masses of
the scoria,* which had been cast into moulds for
such purposes, as it issued from the furnace. In
the museum of the Geological Society at Pen-
zance the stranger may see an interesting model
of this Copper Jlouse, and of the furnaces em-
ployed in the reduction of the ore.

There are now at Hayle two very extensive
Iron Founderies, in which are cast the largest
engines which have been hitherto erected on
mines. They are wrought partly by water, and
partly by Steam Engines. Near the Copper
House the traveller will not fail to notice the
fine back-water dam, which was constructed
about thirty years since, for the scouring out of
the harbour. The effect has been a considerable
reduction of the sand which forms its bottom, so
that ships of much greater burden may now enter
it. The plan and execution of this work, which
was undertaken at the expense of the then exist-

* All the walls in the neighbourhood are built of the same ma-
terial ; and since these vitreous cubes are so piled upon each other
as to leave interstices, it has been facetiously observed that " in
Cornwall the walls are built of glass, and that you may distinctly see
through them."

Inundation of Sand. 161

ing Hayle Copper Company, reflect great credit
on the late John Edwards, Esq., who first con-
ceived its practicability and advantage, and under
whose direction it was completed. A phenome-
non occurred at these works some years ago
which afforded a curious illustration of the secret
and destroying agency of Galvanic electricity. The
flood gates were found to undergo a very rapid
decay, which was perfectly inexplicable, until
the engineer ascertained that it depended en-
tirely upon the contact of iron and copper bolts
and braces, which had been introduced into the
different parts of the frame work.

The country around Hayle is entirely desolated
with sand, consisting of minutely comminuted ma-
rine shells, and which, with some few interrup-
tions extends all along the coast, from Saint Ives
to near Padstow, and in many places is drifted
into hills of sixty feet in elevation. There can
be but little doubt that this sand was originally
brought from the sea side by hurricanes, but not
even a popular tradition remains of the time or
manner of this extensive devastation, which has
reached, with some distinct intervals, nearly forty
miles in length. Some allusion to this event has
been supposed to have been discovered amongst
the ancient records of the Arundel family, fixing
L

Arundo Arenaria.

the period about the twelfth century ; but Mr.
Boase observes, that the fact of the churches still
remaining more or less ingulphed, the age of
which does not much exceed three centuries,
decisively refutes such a conjecture. On the
other hand, it would appear that in the liber
•calorum of Henry the Eighth, the living of Gwy-
thian was estimated far above its proportion to
adjoining parishes. By the shifting of the sand
by high winds, the tops of houses, and the ruins
of ancient buildings, may be occasionally seen at
this very day ; and in some places a great num-
ber of human bones have been discovered, deri-
ved from the cemetries which have been formerly
inundated.

The farther progress of the sand flood is at
length arrested by extensive plantations of the
Arundo Arenaria, or common sea rush.*

The most important geological circumstance
connected with the history of this sand is, that

* The value of this useful rush in checking the progress of sand,
has been long known ; there was an act of parliament in Scotland,
so long ago as the year 1695, to prevent persons who collected this
rush (then known by the name of Starre or Bent) for the purpose
of making mats, from plucking it up, and thereby loosening the
sand. A clause to the same effect was introduced into a multifarious
act of parliament in the year 1742. The operation of this clause
extends generally to the north-west coast of England ; but such
persons as claimed prescriptive right of cutting it on the sea coast
of Cumberland are exempted from its operation.

The Sand solidifying into Rock. 163

on several parts of the coast, it is passing into
the state of a solid compact rock ! The fact was
first investigated by Dr. Paris, who has published
a memoir upon the subject in the first volume of
the Transactions of the Geological Society of
Cornwall; and as every scientific traveller must
be desirous of exploring so interesting a pheno-
menon we have extracted, from the paper above
mentioned, such notices as may be useful in
assisting his researches.

" The Sandstone which occurs on the northern
coast of Cornwall undoubtedly affords one of the
most splendid and instructive instances • of a
Recent Formation upon record. We actually
detect Nature at work in changing calcareous
sand into stone ; and she does not refuse admit-
tance into her manufactory, nor does she conceal
with her accustomed reserve the details of the
operations in which she is engaged. It does not
however appear that any geologist has fully
availed himself of so rare an indulgence; — to
drop the allegory, no complete or satisfactory
explanation has been hitherto afforded of this
most interesting formation, nor of the phenomena
which attend it. At the period that Dr. Borlase
wrote his History of Cornwall, the science of
Chemistry had scarcely dawned ; we cannot there-

164 Interesting Formation

fore feel surprised at his having attributed * the
concretion of shelly sand to the agglutinating qua-
lity of sea water."

" The sand first appears in a slight, but en-
creasing state of aggregation on several parts of
the shore in the Bay of Saint Ives; but on ap-
proaching the Gwythian river it becomes more
extensively indurated. On the shore opposite
to Godrevy Island, an immense mass occurs of
more than a hundred feet in depth, containing
entire shells and fragments of clay-slate ; and it
is singular that the whole mass should assume a
very -striking appearance of stratification. In
some places, it appears that attempts have been
made to separate it, probably for the purpose of
building, for several old houses in Gwythian are
entirely built with it. The rocks in the vicinity
of this recent formation in the Bay of Saint Ives
are Greenstone and Clay-slate, which appear to
alternate. But it is around the promontory of
New Kaye, in Fistrel Bay, in the parish of Saint
Colurob Minor, that the geologist will be most
struck with this formation, for here there is
scarcely any other rock in sight. The cliffs,
which are high and extend for several miles, are
wholly composed of it, and are occasionally in-
tersected by veins and dykes of Breccia. In the

of Recent Sandstone. 165

cavities hang calcareous stalactites of rude ap-
pearance. The beach is covered with disjointed
fragments, which have been detached from the clift'
above, many of which weigh at least from two to
three tons. The sandstone is also to be here seen
in different stages of induration ; from a state in
which it is too friable to be detached from the
rock upon which it reposes without crumbling,
to a hardness so considerable as to require a very
violent blow from a hammer to break it ;* indeed
holes are actually bored in some parts for the
purpose of admitting cables with which vessels
are moored. Buildings are here commonly con-
structed of it, and the church of Crantock is
entirely built with it. By the inhabitants the
stone is employed for various articles of domestic
and rural ceconomy."

" The Geologist, who has previously examined
the celebrated specimen from Guadaloupe, en-
closing a human skeleton, and which is now in
the British Museum, will be forcibly struck with
the great similitude which this stone bears to it ;
and suspecting that masses might be found con-
taining human bones imbedded, if a diligent
search were made in the vicinity of those ceme-

* A highly illustrative scries of this rock is deposited in the Gco-
logical Cabinet at Penzancc.

166 Recent Sandstone.

tries which have been overwhelmed, 1 made an
excursion with my friend Sir ChristopherHawkins,
for that purpose ; but time and patience failed us,
and the discovery is reserved for some more per-
severing and fortunate member of the society."

" Such then is the nature and situation of this
most interesting formation. In the next place,
we have to enquire into the causes which have
operated in thus consolidating the sand, and into
the peculiar circumstfinces under which the ope-
ration has been conducted."

" It will appear that there are at least three
distinct modes by which the lapidification of cal-
careous sand may be effected, and that the present
formation is capable of affording characteristic
examples of each."

" The three species of cementing matter to
which I allude, are all deposited from water in
which they either exist chemically dissolved, or
mechanically suspended. The water deriving
them from the substances through which it perco-
lates ; thus is the first species of cement obtained —

1. By the percolation of water, through a stra-

tum of calcareous sand, by which it becomes
impregnated with carbonate of lime.

2. By the percolation of water through strata

containing decomposing Sulphurels ; by

Theory of the Phenomenon. JC7

which it becomes impregnated with Sitl-
phuric salts.

3. By the percolation of water through decani-
posing Clay-slate, or any other ferruginous
strata', by which it becomes impregnated
with Iron, Alumina, and other mineral
matter.

In the first case, the very small proportion of
carbonate of lime which is held in solution will
necessarily render it a powerful cement, since the
density and compactness of a precipitate will gene-
rally vary, inversely as the rapidity with which it
is deposited. This fact is familiarly illustrated by
the obstinate adhesion of calcareous incrustations
to the interior surfaces of water decanters. In
the second case, wherein a sulphuric salt would
appear to act the part of a cement, it may be ob-
served, that the sulphatization of pyrites in the
presence of calcareous matter is a very general
source of gypsum. The granular gypsum from
the Falls of Niagara, which is described by Dr.
Kidd as being " as white as snow," owes its
origin to a natural process of this decomposition ;
for I am informed by Dr. Maclure of Philadel-
phia, who has visited the spot, that it is formed
in consequence of the action of water upon de-
composing slate, which contains numerous veins

168 Recent Sandstone.

of carbonate of lime and sulphate of iron. I have
also in my possession a series of incrustations
which were taken out of steam boilers in Corn-
wall, one of which presents an admirable instance
of the formation of sulphate of lime, its surface
being beautifully studded with its crystals ; the
water which supplied the boiler, and by the eva-
poration of which this substance was deposited,
was derived from a mine in clay-slate intersected
with veins of Pyrites and carbonate of lime. ,"

" With regard to the third species of cementing
matter, viz. Oxide of Iron, it is scarcely neces-
sary to state, that in the induration of mineral
bodies Iron has been long known to act a very
important part; the most superficial observer
must have noticed the concretions which so fre-
quently appear on the beach around a rusty nail,
or any fragment of iron, while the mineralogist
must be acquainted with the proofs which Mr.
Kirwan has collected in support of the fact, |V>'or
is the part which it performs in the disintegration
of mineral bodies less obvious ; by its agency we
have seen a loose sand become a hard rock, but if
we extend our inquiry we shall find that Iron by
attracting a farther proportion of oxygen from
air or moisture, soon crumbles into dust, and
thus proves the immediate cause of the decom-

Huel Alfred — her Workings resumed. 169

position of that very rock, of which it formerly
constituted the indurating ingredient. In this, as
in every other operation, Nature preserves her
uniformity, producing the most diversified and
opposite effects by the modified application of
the same principles."

For this long digression we feel conscious that
some apology is necessary ; the extreme interest
as well as novelty of the phenomenon will at
once suggest a sufficient excuse to the geologist;
and to other observers it may at least be pleaded
in extenuation, that they have lost nothing by
the delay, for it has been in a district which offers
but few objects of amusement or instruction.

About a mile and a half south-east of Hayle is
Huel Alfred^ which was some years ago one of
the richest and most profitable Copper mines in
the county. The adventurers gained a clear
profit of nearly aB 130,000 during the period in
which it was wrought. In the year 1816, from
various causes, this mine was stopped, but about
six months ago a company of London gentlemen
embarked in the concern, and commenced their
operations in a very spirited manner. Before
Midsummer 1821, they expect to set at work two
steam-engines with cylinders of the immense size
of 90 inches in diameter, and one of less dimen-

170 The Herland Mines.

sions. This mine will undoubtedly prove attrac-
tive and interesting to the mineralogist, as, du-
ring the last period of working, several curious
and rare minerals were discovered, as Stalactitic,
swimming, and cubic quartz ; carbonate, and phos-
phate of Lead f stalactitic, botryoidal, and invest-
ing Calcedony, &c. The lodes of this mine are
so large that should the stranger intend to visit
the interior of the earth, he cannot select a bet-
ter opportunity.

About a mile east of Huel Alfred are situated
the Herland Mines, which, after an interval of
twenty years, have been lately set at work again.
The adventurers in these mines are also prin-
cipally London capitalists, who have erected two
steam-engines of which the cylinders are 80 inches
in diameter. The mineralogist will not fail to
visit mines which were celebrated for the beauti-
ful specimens of Native Silver, Vitreous Silver
ore, and black oxide of Silver, found there during
the last period of its working, an account of
which, by the Rev. M. Hitchins, was published
in the Philosophical Transactions for the year
1801.

There is a remarkable contrast between the
lodes of Huel Alfred and those of Herland. The
former being few, but very large; the latter,

Trevet/ioc. Saint Ert/i. 171

small but very numerous, and the ore peculiarly
rich.

The stranger may now proceed to Redruth,
between which place and Hayle, there is a regu-
lar line of rich Copper mines, but as we propose
to examine this metalliferous district in a future
excursion, we shall return by Saint Erth to Pen-
zance.

The desolate and barren appearance of the
country in the neighbourhood of Hayle Sands, is
much relieved by the woodland scenery of Treve-
thoe, the seat of the family of Praed; the father
of the present possessor first introduced the Pine-
aster JFVr, as a nurse for the growth of forest
trees, and the estate of Trevethoe, as well as
many others in the county, affords a striking
evidence of the expediency of the plan. To the
same gentleman we are indebted for the intro-
duction of the Arundo arenaria, above mentioned.

Arriving at the bridge of Saint Erth., the tra-
veller will perceive that a considerable portion
of the breadth of the peninsula is here penetrated
by an arm of the sea, and that the land which
succeeds it in a direction towards the south is so
low, that a canal might easily be cut along the
hills which terminate at Marazion, and a com-
munication be thus opened between the English

172 The Smelting House.

and Irish Channels ; or that an iron rail-way for
the conveyance of coals, sand, &c. might be con-
structed at a comparatively small expense.

At Saint Erth, were formerly situated the
" Rolling Mills" for reducing blocks, or bars of
Copper, into flat sheets, as described in the first
edition of this " Guide ;" since, however, the
Copper-works at Hayle have been abandoned,
these mills have been used for rollinar and ham-

o

mering iron.

In the neighbourhood of Saint Erth is Tredrea,
the Cornish residence of Da vies Gilbert, Esq.
M.P.

On our return to Penzance an opportunity
occurs of witnessing the operation of smelting
Tin ore.* It consists in first heating the ore,

* Tin appears to have been formerly smelted by the Jews, who
in the reign of King John monopolized the tin trade, by merely
hollowing out a plot of ground, and fusing the oxide with wood, in
an open fire. Many ancient remains of this operation have been
discovered in different parts of Cornwall, in which portions of
metallic tin embedded in a stratum of charred wood, or charcoal,
have been found ; and which have given rise to the fallacy res-
pecting the discovery of this metal in a native state. In examining
a fragment of this kind which was found under the surface of a
low and boggy ground in the parish of Kea, the late eminent che-
mist, Mr. William Gregor, observed a vein of saline matter running
through the mass, which he ascertained to be muriate of tin ; a
full account of this interesting phenomenon is published in the
first volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.

Ludgican Church. 173

with about an eighth part of Culm,* in a rever-
batory furnace for six hours, during which period
the sulphur and arsenic are volatilized, and the
ore is reduced to its metallic state; the furnace
is then tapped, and the liquid metal run out', a
second melting, however, is necessary before it is
sufficiently pure to be cast into blocks^ and as-
sayed at the Coinage. After this last melting,
and before the Tin is poured into the moulds, a
piece of green apple-tree wood is thrown into
the liquid metal, and kept under its surface; the
effect of which is to throw up the scoria with ra-
pidity ; it would seem to act merely in producing
a violent ebullition by the sudden disengagement
of steam. One hundred parts of the oxide of Tin
(" Black Tin1'') at an average will yield about
65 parts of metal, or White Tin, as it is technically
termed.

Ludgvan Church, which appears upon an eleva-
tion on the right of the road leading to Penzance,
and which forms so prominent a feature on the
shores of the bay, will be visited by the Antiquary

* Culm. A species of very pure coal containing no sulphur.
It is imported from Wales.

+ It is a favourite custom to dress a beef-steak on the pure Tin
in the mould, as soon as the surface becomes sufficiently hard to
bear it ; and it must be admitted to be very far superior to that
which is cooked in the ordinary manner.

174 Tomb of Dr. Borlase,

with sensations of respect, when he learns that it
contains the mortal remains of Dr. Borlase the
venerable and learned author of the Natural His-
tory and Antiquities of Cornwall. From the latin
Inscription on his tomb it appears that he was
fifty-two years rector of this parish, and that he
died August 31st 1772, in the 77th year of his
age. Although Dr. Borlase spent the greater
part of a long life in this retired district, his fame
as a scholar had spread through all the literary
circles of the age. If we require any other tes-
timony of his talents than that which his own
works will afford, we may receive it from no less
an oracle than POPE, with whom he regularly
corresponded. In a letter written by the Poet,
to express his thanks for the present of a Cornish
diamond, presented by Dr. Borlase for the deco-
ration of his grotto, Pope thus expresses himself,
" I have received your gift, and have so placed
it in my grotto, that it will resemble the donor —
in the shade , but shining."

If in the course of the present work we have
ventured any remarks upon the opinions of Dr.
Borlase which may be considered in the slightest
degree disrespectful to his talents, we willingly
offer this expiation at his shrine. His errors,
whatever they may have been, were the inevi-

the learned Antiquarian. 175

table consequence of the infant state of those
sciences indirectly connected with his pursuits,
not the result of literary incapacity, or of de-
praved judgment.

" Custodial Urnam
Cana Fides, vigilentque perenni lampade Musae."

About half a mile below the Church-Totsn,
crossing the road to Marazion, is a vallum thrown
up in the civil war by the Parliament forces when
they besieged Saint Michael's Mount.

176 Excursion to Red ruth.

EXCURSION V.

TO REDRUTH, AND THE MINING DISTRICTS IN ITS
VICINITY.

IN the present excursion, the traveller in search
of the Picturesque will meet with but meagre
fare ; for many a mile has the face of nature been
robbed of all ornament, and the interior of the
earth has been scattered over its surface in the
anxious pursuit of mineral treasures. The un-
sightly mounds of rubbish thus produced have
been accumulating for centuries, and are so high-
ly impregnated with mineral matter that not a
blade of grass will vegetate upon them.

The intelligent traveller, however, must not
anticipate an excursion as destitute of interest
and variety as the surface of the country which
he is about to traverse, for like the shabby mien
of the miser, its aspect but ill accords with its
hoards; and the total absence of cultivation ami
rural ornament, is soon forgotten amidst the

Antiquity of the Tin Mines. 177

richest field of mineraloglcal enquiry which any
country ever afforded.

As our present object is to afford the stranger
such directions as may enable him to inspect this
mining district with advantage, and to visit what-
ever is interesting and instructive in connection
with it, it may in the first instance be expedient
to offer a general outline of the modes in which
the Cornish mines are worked, before we enter
into the details of topographical description.

For many centuries* the Tin Mines in Corn-
wall ha^e given to the country a very important
place in the (Economical history of nations, and
furnished a perpetual source of employment to a
very large population, which exclusive of the
artisans, tradesmen, and merchants, cannot be
estimated at less than sixty thousand persons.

All the transactions connected with the Tin
Mines are under the controul of the Stannary
Laws. Courts are held every month, arid they

* The Phoenicians traded upon the western coasts of Cornwall,
for at least six hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, and
that for the sake of Tin ; — so that the antiquity of our tin trade
has been established upon mercantile principles for not less than
twenty-four centuries. But in the earlier ages this metal was all
procured from Stream Works, the method of working mines not
having been known and practised for more than seven hundred
years.

M

178 The Manner of working

decide by juries of six persons, with a progres-
sive appeal to the Lord Warden, and Lords of
the Duke of Cornwall's council ; no custom,
however, or ancient law, prevails as to the work-
ing of Copper or Lead in the Stannaries, and
therefore all agreements are made upon such
terms as are decided on by the contracting
parties.

At present the greatest metallic product of the
county is Copper,* although this metal is, com-
paratively of modern discovery, and has not
been worked longer than a century. The reason
assigned for its having so long remained con-
cealed is the assumed fact, that Copper generally
occurs at a much greater depth than Tin, and
that, consequently, the ancients for want of
proper machinery to drain off the water were
compelled to relinquish the metallic vein before
they reached the Copper ; it is stated by Pryce,
in his Mineralogia Cornubiensis, as a general
rule, that Tin seldom continued rich and worth
working lower than 50 fathoms ; but of late years
the richest Tin mines in Cornwall have been

* In the year 1822, the produce of the Copper mines in Corn-
wall amounted to 106,723 tons of ore, which produced 9,331 tons
in Copper, and £ 676,285 in money. Whereas the quantity of Tin
Ore raised did not exceed 20,000 tons.

the Cornish Mines. 179

much deeper. Trevenen Mine was 150, — Hewas
Downs 140, — Poldice 120, and Huel For is now
upwards of 130 fathoms in depth.

Upon the first discovery of Copper ore, the
miner to whom its nature was entirely unknown,
gave it the name of Poder ; and it will hardly
be credited in these times, when it is stated, that
he regarded it not only as useless, but upon its
appearance was actually induced to abandon the
mine, the common expression upon such an
occasion was, that " the ore came in and spoilt
the Tin.* About the year 1735, Mr. Coster, a
mineralogist of Bristol, observed this said Poder
among the heaps of rubbish, and seeing that the
miners were wholly unacquainted with its value,
he formed the design of converting it to his own
advantage ; he accordingly entered into a con-
tract to purchase as much of it as could be sup-
plied. The scheme succeeded, and Coster long
continued to profit by Cornish ignorance.

The mines in the county of Cornwall consist
chiefly of Tin and Copper, besides which there

* The Saxon Miners formerly regarded Cobalt in the same way.
They considered it so troublesome when they found it among other
ores, that a prayer was used in the German Church, that God
icould preserve Miners from Cobalt, and from Spirits.

M 2

180 The Manner of working

are some which yield Lead*, Cobalt,t and
Silver.}: The ores are in veins which are pro-
vincially termed Lodes, the most important of
which run in an east and west direction ; during
their course they vary considerably in width,
from that of a barley-corn to 36 feet ; || the aver-
age may be stated at from one to four feet. It
is, however, by no means regular, the same lode
will vary in size from six inches to two feet, in
the space of a few fathoms. No instance has yet
occurred of lodes having been cut out in depth ;
the deepest mine now at work is Dolcoath, which

* Lead is principally found in cross courses, or north and south
veins. Pentire Glaze, near Padstow, which has lately produced
the finest cabinet specimens of Carbonate of Lead, ever found in
this country ; and Iluel Golding in Perranzabuloe, are the principal
mines in which the Lead occurs in cross courses. Lately, how-
ever, East and West Lodes of Lead have been discovered in the
Parish of Newlyn, by Sir C. Hawkins, in draining a marsh. They
are about two feet wide. Besides the Lead and a little quartz, they
consist entirely of Clay ; neither Copper nor Tin have been seen in
them. The Lead yields about Sixty Ounces of Silver per Ton.

f Cobalt. Iluel Sparnon Tin and Copper Mine in the Parish of
Redruth, is the only mine in the county that ever produced any
considerable quantity of Cobalt; one fragment raised from it
weighed 1333 Ibs.

£ Silver. In the Copper Lode of Huel Ann, there occurred a
distinct vein of black and grey Silver ore, with Native Silver, from
two to five inches wide with a wall of Quartz, on each side. It
was however very short. See Mr. Game's paper on the Silver
Mines of Cornwall, Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of
Cornwall, vol. i. p. 118.

|| Only one Lode in Cornwall has, however, been found of this
size, and that only for the length of 20 fathoms in Jtdistian. In
Nangiles the lode is, in some parts, 30 feet wide.

the Cornish Mines. 181

is about 235 fathoms from the surface to the
lowest part.* Crenver and Oaffield have lately
been stopped ; they were 240 fathoms deep. The
rocks through which the lodes descend are of
different kinds, thus are Copper and Tin found
in granite, as well as in slateA The Tin in these
veins \ generally occurs in the state of an oxide',
the only Copper ore of any consequence is Cop-
per Pyrites, or Sulphuret of Copper; the arsen-
iates, carbonates, &c. being too small in quantity
to be of any importance in a mining point of
view. Iron and Arsenical Pyrites are also very
common attendants, and are both confounded
under the name of Mundic. Besides the metal-
liferous veins which run easterly and westerly,
we have already stated that there are others, not
generally containing ore, which maintain a direc-
tion from North to South, and on that account
are called cross courses, and often prove to the
miner a great source of trouble and vexation ;

* As the Counting House of Dolcoath has been determined to
be 360 feet above the level of the sea, the mine extends 1050 feet
below it ; which is probably deeper under the sea level than any
mine in the globe.

+ Clay Slate is provincially called Killas; and Porphyry is
known by the name of Elvan.

| For a full account of this subject, the reader must consult
Mr. Game's laborious paper, " On the Veins of Cornwall" in the
2nd Volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society
of Cornwall.

182 The Manner of working

for they not only cut through the other veins,
but frequently alter their position, OP heave them,
as it is termed ; and it is a very curious fact that
most of the Tin and Copper lodes, thus heaved,
are shifted in such a manner, as to be generally
found by turning to the right hand ; left handed
heaves being comparatively rare. Jn Huel Peever
this vexatious phenomenon occurred, and it was
not until after a search of forty years that the
lode was recovered.* The discovery of metalli-
ferous veins is effected by various methods, the
most usual one is by sinking pits to the solid
rock, and then driving a trench north and south,
so as to meet with every vein in the tract through
which it passes; the process is a very ancient
one, and is termed Costeening.^ The operation,
however, of opening a new mine from the sur-
face, or from Grass, | as it is called, is not one

* We must refer the reader to a Paper, " On the Veins of Corn-
wall," by W. Phillips, Esq, published in the 2nd vol. of the
Transactions of the London Geological Society ; and also to a
Paper, " On the relative Age of Veins," by Joseph Carne, Esq. in
the 2nd vol. of the Cornish Transactions.

+ We shall pass oyer, as being too absurd to require any
serious refutation, the former belief in the power of the Virgula
Divinatoria to discover Lodes. A power less poetical but not less
fabulous then the story of the Virga Fatalis that conducted ^Eneas
to the Shade".

Grass is the technical name for the surface on all occasions.

the Cornish Mines. 183

of frequent occurrence.* The reworking of
mines which have been formerly abandoned, on
account of the produce being insufficient to pay
the costs, from the fall of the standard price of
ore, is quite sufficient to absorb all the specu-
lative spirit of the country.

But by whatever accident or method a lode
may be discovered, the leave of the proprietor of
the soil must be obtained before any operations
can be commenced, except in such cases of Tin
Mines as are anciently embounded according to
the provisions of the Stannary Laws. The owner
of the land is technically called the Lord, whose
share (which is termed his Disk) is generally
one-sixth, or one - eighth of the profits ; the
parties who engage to work the mine are called
Adventurers, their shares depending upon their
original contributions and agreements.

When it has been determined to work a mine,
three material points are to be considered ; viz.
the discharge of the water, — the removal of the
barren rock and rubbish (deads), — and the raising
of the ore. One of the first objects, therefore, is
to cut an Adit,+ as it is called, which in an in-

* The great Copper Mine, railed Crennin, was discovered by
some casual observers in the cliff.
+ From 4ditus, a passage ?

184 The Manner of working

clined underground passage, about six feet high,
and 2| wide, and is generally commenced at the
bottom of a neighbouring valley, and is driven
up to the vein, for the purpose of draining it of
water above their point of contact ; these Adits
are sometimes continued to a very considerable
distance, and although the expense of forming
them is necessarily very considerable, yet they
are found to afford the most oeconomical method
of getting rid of the water, in as much as it saves
the labour of the steam-engine in raising it to
(Grass) the surface. As soon as the vertical
aperture, or Shaft, is sunk to some depth, a
machine called a Whim is erected, to bring up
the deads, and ore. It consists of a perpendicular
axis on which a large hollow cylinder of timber,
termed the Cage, revolves; and around this a
rope, directed down the Shaft by a pulley, winds
horizontally. In the axis a transverse beam is
fixed, at the ends of which two horses are fast-
ened, and going their rounds haul up a basket
(or Kibbul) full of ore, or deads, whilst an empty
one is descending.* As the lode never runs down
perpendicularly it is necessary to cut galleries,

* The application of this machine in the county is estimated as
saving the labour of 10,000 men; whilst the powers of the dif-
ferent steam-engines are considered as at least equivalent to 40,000
more,

the Cornish Mines. 185

called Levels, horizontally on the vein, one above
another. These levels are, in the first instance,
about two feet wide, and six feet high, but vary-
ing according to circumstances, and being fre-
quently extended much beyond their original di-
mensions. They are driven one above the other
at intervals of from 10 to 20, or 30 fathoms.
When extended to a certain distance from the
original vertical Shaft, it is necessary, for the
sake of ventilation, as well as for other reasons,
to form a second which is made to traverse all
the levels in the same manner as the first. A
communication is frequently only made between
two galleries by a partial shaft (called a Wins) in
the interval between the two great shafts. When
there are more than one lode worked in the same
mine, as frequently happens, Levels often run
parallel to each other at the same depth. In this
case they communicate by intermediate Levels
driven through the rock (or Country as it is
called) which are denominated Cross-cuts. A
mine thus consists of a series of horizontal gal-
leries, generally one above the other, but some-
times running parallel, traversed at irregular in-
tervals by vertical shafts, and all, either directly
or indirectly, communicating with each other.*

* See Dr. Forbes's Paper " On the Temperature of Mines," in
the second volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.

186 The Descent into a Mine.

The subterranean excavations are effected by
breaking down the looser parts by the pickaxe,
and by blasting the more solid rock by gun-
powder.* In accomplishing this latter operation
the most melancholy accidents have occurred, in
consequence of the iron rammer coming in con-
tact with some siliceous substance, and thus strik-
ing fire. The recurrence of this evil it is hoped
has been prevented by the laudable efforts of the
Geological Society as above related (see page 30),
and that the " Iron Age" has taken its final de-
parture.

If the traveller is inclined to descend into a
mine he is to be first accoutred in a flannel
jacket and trowsers, a close cap, an old broad-
brimmed hat, and a thick pair of shoes ; a lighted
candle is put into one hand, and a spare one sus-
pended to a button of his jacket. The flannel
dress is worn close to the skin, in order to absorb
the perspiration, and every part of the ordinary
dress is laid aside ; thus equipped, if he possess
sufficient strength of nerve, he may descend the
vertical ladders with the most perfect ease and
security ; — but will a view of the mine repay all
this trouble and fatigue? — let us hear what Dr.

* The annual cost of gunpowder, used in the mines of the county,
amounts to more than thirty thousand pounds.

The Interior of a Mine. 187

Forbes has said upon this occasion.* " A person
unacquainted with the details of mining, on being
informed of many hundreds of men being em-
ployed in a single mine, might naturally imagine
that a visit to their deep recesses would afford a
picturesque and imposing spectacle of gregarious
labour and bustle, tremendous noise, and much
artificial brilliancy to cheer the gloom. Nothing,
however, is further from the truth, as far as re-
gards the mines of Cornwall ; for, like their fel-
low labourers the moles, the miners are solitary
in their operations. Seldom do we find more
than three or four men in one level, or gallery, at
a time, where they are seen pursuing the common
operations of digging or boring the rock, by the
feeble glimmering of a small candle, stuck close
by them, with very little noise or much latitude
for bodily movement ; besides whom there are
generally one or two boys employed in wheeling
the broken ore, &c. to the shaft. Each of these
boys has also a candle affixed to his wheelbarrow,
by the universal subterranean candlestick, a piece
of clay. A certain band of men, who, however
numerous, are always called " a Pair" generally
undertake tke working of a particular Level.

* Transactions of tlje Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
vol. '2, page 162.

188 Interior of a Mine.

These subdivide themselves into smaller bodies,
which, by relieving each other at the end of every
six or eight hours, keep up the work uninter-
ruptedly, except on Sunday. By means of this
subdivision of the Pairs, there is in general not
more than one-third of the underground labourers
below at any one time. Very seldom are the
miners within the sound of each other's opera-
tions, except occasionally when they hear the dull
report of the explosions. In the vicinity of the
main shaft, indeed, the incessant action of the
huge chain of pumps, produces a constant, but
not very loud noise, while the occasional rattling
of the metallic buckets against the walls of the
shaft, as they ascend and descend, relieves the
monotony both of the silence and the sound. Still
every thing is dreary, dull, and cheerless ; and
you can be with difficulty persuaded, even when
in the richest and most populous mines, that you
are in the centre of such extensive and important
operations." For keeping the workings from
being inundated, each mine is furnished with a
chain of pumps, extending from the bottom to
the adit-level, worked by a single pump-rod ; each
pump receiving the water brought up by the one
immediately below it. All the water of the deep-
est level finds its way into the bottom of the

Temperature of Mines. 1 89

mine, technically called the Sump, whence it is
finally elevated to the adit, through which it
flows by a gentle descent to the surface.*

We have yet to notice a fact connected with
the natural history of these subterranean recesses,
which has lately excited a very considerable share
of interest in the members of the Cornish Geolo-
gical Society, — that the natural temperature of the
earth in these mines is considerably above that of
the mean of the climate, and increases with the
depth, at the rate of about one degree for evert/ 50
or 60 feet.']: Does there exist then a permanent
source of heat in the interior of the earth ?

The business of a mine is managed by a fore-

*>

man, called the Captain, who keeps the accounts,
and pays and regulates the miners; there are
also Under-ground Captains, who have the imme-
diate inspection of the works below. There exists
a popular belief that the Cornish miner frequently
lives under ground for many days, or weeks,

* The quantity of water discharged by the pumps from many
of the Cornish mines is very considerable ; thus Hucl Abraham
discharges from the depth of 1440 feet, about 2,092,320 gallons
every 24 hours; Dolcoath^ from nearly the same depth, 535,173
gallons in the same time; and Hucl For, from the depth of 950
feet, 1,692,660 gallons.

+ See Dr. Forbes's paper on the temperature of mines, in the
Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2,
p. 208; also on the temperature of mines, by R.W. Fox, Esq. ibid,
p. 14, and a paper on the same subject byM. P. Moyle, Esq. p. 404.

190 . The value of Mines,

without ever visiting the surface. This is never
the case at any time, or under any circumstances.
He does not even eat, much less sleep, in the
mine, but returns to grass, and to his home, often
many miles distant, at whatever depth he may
have been working, when relieved from his la-
bours.

With respect to the value of the mines, con-
sidered as property, it may be observed, that
the whole concern is a Lottery, in which there
exist many blanks to a prize, and were the whole
of the speculation to be invested in any one indi-
vidual, there is no doubt but that, after paying
the required dues to the lords of the soil, and
defraying the necessary expenses for working the
mines, he would at the conclusion of the year
be a lo»er by many thousand pounds. It is very
true that there are many cases of extraordinary
gain,* but these are balanced by more numerous
concerns in which loss is incurred. How then

* Crennis Copper Mine returned a clear profit to the adventu-
rers of ;£84,000 in one year ; and Huel Alfred, during the last
period of its working, yielded very nearly =£130,000, after having
defrayed every necessary expense. The adventurers in Huel Vor
have lately gained £ 10,000 in three months. But, on the contrary,
how numerous are the losses, not perhaps corresponding in mag-
nitude, in any individual mine, to the gains which have been above
stated. In North Downs as much as ,£90,000 were lost, but this
is a rare instance.

considered as Property. 191

does it happen that any capitalists can be induced
to engage in the speculation ? the answer is ob-
vious, for the very same reason that they are
induced to purchase tickets in the Sate Lottery.
There are moreover additional motives which
induce individuals of a certain description to
embark in the speculation, although, as simple
adventurers, they may scarcely anticipate suc-
cess, such are landholders, who are naturally
desirous of promoting an undertaking from which
they must necessarily receive considerable dues;
or merchants, who by becoming shareholders,
are empowered to supply the mines with timber,
candles,* gunpowder, and other articles which
are required for its working.

Having thus considered the mode in which the
ore is excavated from the mine, and brought to
the surface, let us examine the processes by
which it ultimately assumes the state of market-
able metal.

The Tin ore is first spoiled, as it is termed,
that is, broken into smaller fragments, and sepa-
rated from the worthless parts ; it is then pound-

* The consumption of such articles in a great mine far exceeds
any estimate which a person unacquainted with mining operations
could possibly imagine. In Huel For, no less than Three thousand
pounds of candles are consumed in a month, and about Three
thousand five hundred pounds of Gunpowder.

192 Stamping. — Buddling.

ed in the Stamping mill,* an operation which is
essential to the complete separation of the oxide
from the hard matrix through which it is dis-
seminated : if full of slime it is first thrown into
a pit called a huddle, where it is worked in order
to render the Stamping more free, and to prevent
it from choaking the grates ; if however it is free
from slime, the ore is shoveled into a kind of
sloping canal of timber, culled the Pass, whence
it slides by its own weight, and the assistance of
a small stream of water, into the box where the
Lifters work ; the Lifters are raised by a water
wheel, and they are armed at the bottom with
large masses of iron weighing nearly two hun-
dred weight, which pound or slump the ore small
enough for its passage through the holes of an
iron grate fixed in one end of the box, a rill of
water carries it by a small gutter into the^bre
pit, where it makes its first settlement, the lighter
particles running forward with the water into
the middle pit, and thence into the third, where
what is called the slime, or finest portion, settles ;
from these pits the ore is carried to the Keere,
which is a large vat containing water, in which

* Before the invention of the Stamping Mill, the Tin was pul-
verised in a kind of mortar, called a Crazing Mill; one of which
ancient machines is still in the possession of Mr. Williams of Scor-
rier House.

Tozing, and other processes. 193

it is farther purified by an operation called tozing,
and which consists in stirring the water round
by means of a small shovel, with such velocity
as to keep the tin stuff in a state of suspension,
until the whole quantity which can be managed
by one operation is thrown into the vat, and when
the Tozer slackens his efforts, the Tin subsides
to the bottom, from its greater specific gravity,
leaving the sand and other impurities at the top;
while this is going on the upper part of the ves-
sel is beaten with mallets for some minutes, in
order more effectually to ensure this separation.

A third process still remains to be described,
that of Dressing the sand on an inclined plain
with the assistance of a small stream of water; a
great degree of manual dexterity is here requi-
site ; the object, however, is effected wi(h less
trouble and expense, and much more completely,
by the German "Repercussion Frames," of which
there is a model in the Geological Museum at
Penzance.

Upon the same mechanical principle of separa-
tion, founded on the relative specific gravities of
the Tin oxide, and the earthy matters with which
it may be mixed, the Tinner is at once enabled
to estimate the value of any given sample of ore ;
for which purpose the Tin stuff is placed on a

N

194 The 1 in ruins; House.

shovel, and washed under a stream of water,
until the impure earthy particles are carried off
from its sides, when by a peculiar and dextrous
motion, not easily described, all the particles of
the ore are collected together on the fore part of
the shovel. This operation is called Vanning.

When the Tin ore is contaminated with Mundic,
that is, with Arsenical and Iron Pyrites, it is first
roasted in the Burning House, and then washed;
by which means the Tin, which is heavy, is easily
separated from the other ores, which are compara-
tively light. If any Sulphuret of Copper be pre-
sent, the same process is calculated to separate
it, by thus converting it into a Sulphate,* as
described at page 128.

When the ore is dressed, the lord of the soil
receives that portion which is his due, after which
it is divided into as many doles or shares, as there
are adventurers ; and these are measured out by
barrows, an account of which is kept, in the man-
ner of the old times, by a person who notches a
stick.

The manner of dressing and cleansing Copper

* This process might be more generally employed in Cornwall
with much advantage. The green coloured water which so fre-
quently issues from the adits, might be made to yield a consider-
able portion of Copper, if it were properly received in pits, and
submitted to the action of Iron.

The Standard Barrow. 195

ore is nearly similar to that of Tin, except indeed
that as it is raised in large masses, and is tolera-
bly pure, it does not generally require Stamping,
nor much washing.

All these different processes furnish employ-
ment for a great number of women and children,
and it is really interesting to see the dexterity
and cheerfulness with which they pursue the oc-
cupation. There is, however, one practice which
ought to be reformed — the burthen of the Stand-
ard Barrow used in carrying Copper, and which is
said to contain three hundred weight; in addition
to which we must allow for the weight of the

o

barrow itself, and that of the water held by the
recently washed ore, so that it cannot be esti-
mated at less than four hundred weight. This is
an enormous burthen, which is borne by all de-
scriptions of persons who are employed in dress-
ing and weighing, and it has given rise to many
evils.

Those who work below have generally a
wretched and emaciated appearance, although
they seldom continue longer under ground than
six hours in the twenty-four, but are relieved by
a fresh corps. Pulmonary consumption may be
said to be the disease to which they are more
particularly liable.

N 2

196 Names of the Cornish Mines.

The names by which the Cornish mines are
distinguished are usually invented by the first
adventurers, and are often whimsical enough,
the usual prefix, Huel, (always pronounced, and
generally erroneously spelt, Wheel) signifies in
the Cornish language a hole ; while the specific
name of the mine is taken from some trivial or
accidental circumstance, thus Dolcoath was the
name of an old woman, Dorothy Koath, who lived
upon the spot where the working of the mine
commenced ; If uel Providence was so called from
the accidental way in which it was discovered ;
and Huel Boys from the lode having been first
noticed by children who had been playing, and
digging pits in imitation of shafts.

By a rough calculation it may be stated that
there are about 130 mines in the county, but the
number is of course subject to variation ; old
workings being frequently given up, and new
mines opened, or forsaken ones resumed.

Besides the mines, there are also " Stream
Works,'' which aftord a large quantity of the
purest oxide.* They occur in vallies, and derive
their name from the manner in which they are
worked ; which merely consists in washing the

* Stream Tin, on account of its purity, is alone capable of fur-
nishing the grain tin, employed principally by dyers.

Stream Works. — Native Gold. 197

alluvial soil by directing a stream of water over
it, when the finer particles being washed away,
the Tin ore is procured in a separate form.* The
process is termed Streaming for Tin. It is a
singular fact that the only traces of Gold to be
found in Cornwallt are in these alluvial deposi-
tions, in which it sometimes occurs in small
grains, mostly detached, but occasionally ad-
hering to quartz. The miners engaged in the
stream works are generally prepared with quills,
into which they drop these particles as they find
them, and when the quill is full, it is carried to
the goldsmith for sale, and considered as a per-
quisite.

* The principal Stream works are in the parishes of Lanlivery,
Luxilian, St. Blazy, St. Austel, St. Mewan, St. Stephens, and St.
Columb. The greatest Stream work in the county is at Carnon,
about half-way between Truro and Penrhyn ; but there is scarcely
a valley in which the operation has not been conducted on a small
scale.

•f In the Ordnance Map of Cornwall, a spot marked " THE
GOLD MINE" is noticed, near Liskeard. This name serves only
to commemorate one of the many ruinous speculations into which
the inhabitants of this County have repeatedly fallen, from a want
of mineralogical knowledge. A mass of Pyrites having been dis-
covered in this place, its brilliancy induced a belief that it was
GOLD, in consequence of which workings were immediately com-
menced, and the sanguine adventurers, urged forward no doubt
by those who derived an interest from the undertaking, could not
be convinced of their error, until the complete ruin of their for-,
tunes obliged them to abandon every hope.

198 Clowance. — Pendarves. — Tchidy.

But it is time for us to resume our topographi-
cal descriptions —

In our road to Redruth we pass Clowance the
seat of Sir John St. Aubyn, Baronet. Pendarces
the residence of Edward William Wynne Pen-
darves, Esq. son of the late John Stackhouse,
Esq. the elegant author of " Nereis Britannica,"
and Tehidy Park, the mansion of Francis Bas-
set, Lord de Dunstanville, &c.

About two miles west of Redruth, is DOL-
COATH, a copper mine which every intelligent
traveller ought to visit, not only on account of
the immensity of the concern, and the ability and
liberality with which it is conducted, but be-
cause it is so situated on the brow of a hill, that
the spectator can at one glance see all the prin-
cipal machinery by which it is worked. It is
quite impossibe to convey an idea of this singu-<
lar and interesting scene ; — Steam Engines ; —
Water Wheels ; — Horse Whims ; — Stamping
Mills, — are all in motion before us, while in the
glen beneath us many hundred labourers are to
be seen busily engaged in the different operations
of separating, dressing, and carrying the ore.
The same stream of water pouring down the
hill turns successively numerous overshot wheels,
and serves various other purposes in its course;

The Mines of Dolcoath and Cook's Kitchen. 199

and, having thus performed upon the surface,
all that ingenuity could devise, or the operations
of mining require, it is conducted into the bowels
of the earth, where, at a hundred and fifty feet
beneath its surface, it again turns an overshot
wheel of fifty feet in diameter, and becomes
again subservient to the skilful exertions of the
miner. In the whole circle of human inventions
there is nothing which so fully manifests the
resources of intellect, for the production of im-
mense effects, as the stupendous art of mining;
and it is impossible that the workings of Dol-
coath can be viewed without the strongest sensa-
tion of wonder and exultation. The works of
the mine stretch upwards of a mile in length
from east to west ; an extent of ground pene-
trated by innumerable shafts, and honey-combed
by subterranean galleries. Upon the summit of
the hill is another rich copper mine, Cook's
Kitchen, which is on the same suite of lodes as
JDolcoath, but separated by a cross-course which
forms a natural boundary to both. This cross-
course has so heaved the lodes, that many which
are worked with great profit in the former mine
cannot be discovered in the latter, notwithstand-
ing the laborious search which has been made
for that purpose.

200 Redruth.—Chaccwatcr Mine.

The picturesque effect of this scenery is not a
little heightened by the bold elevation of Carn-
breh Hill, which, crowned with the mouldering
remains of past ages, rises, as if in mockery of
the boasted prowess of art, and forms a most
striking and impressive contrast to the active
scene before us.

REDRUTH is a very populous town of high
antiquity, situated in the bosom of the mining
district, and capable of affording very excellent
accommodation to the mineralogist who may be
desirous of remaining some days for the purpose
of inspecting, at his leisure, the numerous mines
by which it is surrounded. The general level of
this metalliferous district is from 350 to 450 feet
above the sea ; and being frequently intersected
by vallies, great opportunities are presented for
the advantageous construction of Adits.

We next proceed to visit the great Steam-
Engine of Chacewater mine, situated three
miles south of Redruth. It was erected about
the year 1813, and was at that period the most
powerful machine in the world. It is a double
engine upon the improved principle of Bolton
and Watt, and the style and elegance with which
its different parts are finished, reflect no incon-
siderable credit upon the engineer. The follow*

The Great Steam Engine. 201

ing are its dimensions ; the cylinder is 66 inches,
the box 19, in diameter. The depth of the en-
gine shaft is 128 fathoms. From the Adit to the
bottom 90 fathoms. It makes eight strokes in a
minute, and at every stroke it raises 108 gallons
of water to the Adit ;* and, at the same time
also, 60 gallons, 10 fathoms high, for the purpose
of condensing the steam. The quantity of coals
consumed in twenty-four hours is estimated at
about eight chaldrons. To give at once a popu-
lar idea of its immense power, it may be stated
that, if it were applied as a mill, it could grind a
Winchester bushel of wheat every minute. Not-
withstanding the immensity of its force, and com-
plexity of parts, so completely is it under the
discretion and guidance of the engineer, that in
one instant he is able to stop its motions by the
mere application of his finger and thumb to a
screw. — " We put a hook in the nose of the
Leviathian ; — play with him as a child, and take
him as a servant for ever."

From Chacewater we proceed southward about

* This is the deepest Adit in the country ; its mouth or ex-
tremity being nearly on a level with the water in one of the creeks
of Falmouth Harbour, into which it empties itself. Taking into
calculation its various windings, through the numerous mines
which it relieves of water, it may be baid to be not less than
twenty-four miles in length.

202 The Consolidated Mines.—IIud Unity.

two miles to visit the extensive Copper mines,
called " The Consolidated Mines," the working of
which has been lately resumed. Here we shall find
two immense Steam Engines, with cylinders of
90 inches in diameter, constantly at work ; the
interior of which is kept as clean as a drawing-
room. The capital expended in setting these
mines at work was not less than j£G5,000, and
under the arrangement of Mr. William Davey,
the concern has proved so profitable, that shares
are now selling in London at j£100 per cent,
profit.

Near the Consolidated Mines are Huel Unity
and Poldice; the former is a Copper mine; the
latter produces both Copper and Tin. The most
beautiful specimens of Arseniate of Copper, and
Arseniate of Lead have been found in these
mines.

Having concluded our account of the mining
district, it remains for us to offer to the minera-
logical tourist a few observations upon the sub-
ject of Cornish Minerals, and upon the best
method of procuring them ; before the stranger,
however, attempts to purchase any specimens,
it will be well for him to inspect the several
splendid cabinets in the county ; besides that in
the museum of the Royal Geological Society,

Provincial Cabinets of Minerals. 203

at Penzance, he should see those in the posses-
sion of William Rashleigh, Esq. M. P. of Men"
abillu ;* John Williams, Esq. of Scorrier House,
and Joseph Came, Esq. of Penzance. The one
in possession of Mr. Rashleigh, if not the most
accessible to the mineralogist, must be confessed
to be without comparison, the most splendid. Its
chief excellence consists in the magnificence and
variety of the Oxide of Tinfi Fluors, Malachite,
and some of the rarer varieties of Sulphuret of
Copper, from mines which have long since ceased
to be worked. Among the more remarkable
specimens are those of Oxide of Tin (from Saint
Agnes) some of the more interesting varieties of
which present the following forms,— very large
octohedrons with, and without, truncations ;-^
the crystal described by Klaproth as one of the
rarest occurrence, vis. — the four-sided prism^
with a four-sided pyramid at each extremity ;
this is to be seen in its simple form, and also
with a rich variety of truncations ; — a group of
four-sided pyramids covered with a thin coating

* Menabilly is situated about four miles west of Fowey, on an
eminence at a short distance from the sea.

+ We have been told that this has been arranged by Mr. Aikin,
according to the different modifications of its crystalline form, as
they are described by Mr. William Phillips in his elaborate paper
published in the 2nd Vol. of the Transactions of the London
Geological Society.

204 Mr. RashleigVs Collection

of Calcedony^ which, being hydrophanous, shews
the form of the crystal very distinctly after im-
mersion in water ; Wood-tin forming a vein in
a matrix of quartz, to one side of which adheres
a fragment of rock; it is hardly necessary to re-
mind the mineralogist of the importance of this
specimen in a geognostic point of view ;* Tin
crystals having a coating of black hcematite ;
Sulphuret of Tin, a mineral which has never
been found in any part of the world except at
Hud Rocky in Saint Agnes, Slenna-gwyn, in
Saint Stephen's, and Huel Scorrier in Gwen-
nap.t In the collection of Tins may be seen
several small blocks | of that metal, as prepared
by the Jews, for commerce, during the early
workings of the Cornish mines, among which is
a fraudulent one consisting of a mass of stone
covered with a thin coating of metal. In the
collection of Coppers may be noticed Yellow

* See an interesting account of this mineral in a notice entitled
" Contributions towards a knowledge of the Geological History
of Wood-Tin, by A. Majendie, Esq." in the first volume of the
Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

•f Since the first edition of this work was printed, the mineral
has been found at Saint Michaefs Mount, and, by Dr. Boase,
amongst a pile of ore which was supposed to come from Bolul-
lack.

J In one of which is to be seen the Muriate of Tin, as first
noticed by the late Revcread William Gregor.

of Minerals at Menabilly. 205

Copper ore with Opal (from Roskeir); the triple
Sulphuret of Antimony, Copper, and Lead in
various forms ; Ruby Copper in cubes ; Quartz
containing globules of water ; the Hydrargyllite
or Wavellite, in a plumose form accompanied by
Apatite in a matrix of Quartz (from Saint
Stephen's), Topazes of considerable lustre (from
Saint Agnes), Green Fluor in crystals of twenty-
four sides (Saint Agnes). A most beautiful and
instructive cube of Fluor, the surface of which
reflects a delicate green hue, but upon being held
to the light the crystal exhibits its octohedral nu-
cleus of a purple colour. The mineralogist should
also notice a superb octohedron of Gold, and a
mass of Stalaclitical Arragonite from the grotto of
Antiparos. Before quitting Menabilly he ought to
visit the grotto, built in a beautiful and secluded
part of the grounds, near the shore in the port
of Polredmouth. It stands at the extremity of a
large grove, and is constructed with the finest
species of marble and serpentine, with brilliant
crystals, pebbles, and shells; its form is that
of an octagon, two of the sides of which are
appropriated to the door and window which
front each other, while the six remaining sides
form receptacles for minerals, four of which con-
tain specimens of ores found in the county, and

206 Mineralogical Cabinet of

two are filled with organic fossils, polished agates,
and jaspers; the intermediate spaces are occupied
by shells, coralloids, and various other substances.
The roof is composed of Stalactites of singular
beauty, and which produce a very striking effect
as they are seen through the roughly formed
arch which composes the entrance. In this grotto
are preserved two links of the chain which were
found in Fowey harbour by some fishermen in
the year 1776; they are of a triangular form,
incrusted with shells and corals, and are sup-
posed to have formed a part of the chain which
extended from tower to tower, for the ancient
defence of the harbour. Among the mineralogi-
cal specimens in this place there is one of Calce-
dony which deserves particular notice for its
beauty as well as magnitude. In the centre of
the grotto is a table inlaid with thirty-two po-
lished specimens of granite, all found in the
county of Cornwall.

THE CABINET OF JOHN WILLIAMS, ESQ. is
at Scorrier House, about two miles east of Red-
ruth, and may therefore be visited by the mine-
ralogist in the present excursion. This collection
stands unrivalled in the magnificence of its spe-
cimens of Red Oxide of Copper, in octohedrons,
cubes, and capillary crystals ; it also contains the

John Williams, Esq. of Scorrier. 207

finest specimens of Arseniate of Copper in very
perfect obtuse octohedrons ; — a mass of Uranite,
which in size and beauty is superior to any speci-
mens ever discovered ; — Blende, in octohedrons
and cubes; — Native, and Ruby Silver', and a
specimen of the Muriate of that metal (Horn
Silver) so well known for its value, that it may
be said to constitute one of the most interesting
objects in the collection. The Arseniate of Lead,
in six-sided prisms, a most beautiful mineral,
which was first analysed by Mr. Gregor, and has
been found only in Hud Unity, may be seen
in this cabinet in its most perfect forms.

The collection of Mr. Carne has been already
noticed in our account of Penzance, at page 31.

In order to collect the various minerals of the
county the stranger must apply to the different
dealers,* (rapax et sordidum pecus) and make the
best bargain he is able ; he may also occasionally
purchase some good specimens of the miners at
the various mines he may happen to visit. In
his rambles we recommend him to visit Saint

* The following are the names of the respectable dealers to
whom we recommend the mineralogist to apply, — At Truro, Tre-
goning, Mudge, and Heard; — at Redruth, Bennett; at Gwenap,
Michell ; — at Saint Agnes, Argall ; — at Falmouth, Trathan ; — and
at Penzance, Jacobs, the latter of whom has generally a great
variety of Saint Just minerals on sale.

208 Saint Agnes — Carn-breh Hill.

Agnes, where are the Trevaunance, and Seal
Hole mines, from which have been raised the
most beautiful specimens of crystallized Tin in
the world, accompanied occasionally with To-
pazes, and twenty-four-sided Fluor. Here too
may be seen a geological phenomenon of con-
siderable interest, — the slate of the coast inter-
sected with Porphyry Dykes. Saint Agnes'
Beacon is also well worthy of observation ; it is
an insulated eminence of a pyramidal form, en-
tirely covered with debris, and is composed of
Slate, although it rises 664 feet above the level
of the sea. Saint Agnes is the birth place of the
celebrated artist OP IE,* and the tourist may be
gratified by inspecting many of the earlier pro-
ductions of his pencil. But we now take our
leave of the Mineralogist, and shall attend the
Antiquary in order to inspect Carn-breh hill,
which rises a little to the south-west of Redruth, to
an elevation of 697 feet ; its principal interest is

* OPIE was a parish apprentice to a person of the name of
Wheeler, a house carpenter, in the village of Saint Agnes ; Dr.
Walcott, better known by his poetical appellation of Peter Pin-
dar, having been struck, during his occasional visits to the village,
by some rude sketches in chalk which were shewn him as the
productions of this poor lad, invited him to his house at Trttro,
supplied him with the necessary materials, and enabled him to set
up as an itinerant portrait painter, from which station he rose to
be Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy.

Supposed Druidical Monuments. 209

derived from the lucubrations of Dr. Borlase,
who regarded it as having been the grand centre
of Druidical worship, and he asserts that, in his
time, the remains of the monuments which were
peculiar to that priesthood were to be easily
recognized, such as Rock Basins ; Circles ; Crom-
lechs ; Hock Idols ; Karns ; Caves ; religious en-
closures ; Logan Stones ; a Gorseddau, or place
of elevation, whence the Druids pronounced their
decrees ; and the traces of a Grove of Oaks ! —
this is all very ingenious and imposing, but is
there any rational testimony in support of such
an hypothesis? are there any just grounds for
considering the objects to which he alludes as the
works of art ? — most certainly none, they are
unquestionably the lesults of the operation of
time and the elements, and have never been
formed by any agents except those which Nature
employs in the decomposition of granitic masses;
but the age of Antiquarian illusion is past; the
light of geological science dispels the phantoms
which the wizard fancy had created, just as the
rising sun dissolves the mystic forms which the

~ *

most common object assumes in twilight, when
viewed through the medium of credulity and su-
perstition. The rock basins of Antiquaries are
rounded cavities on the surface of rocks, and are
o

210 Geological explanation of

occasionally as spheroidal, internally, as if they
had been actually shaped by a turning lathe ;
it was this artificial appearance which first sug*
gested the hypothesis concerning their origin,
and induced the Antiquary to regard them as
pools of lustration. Dr. Mac Culloch,* however,
very justly observes, that their true nature is
very easily traced by inspecting the rocks them-
selves; on examining the excavations they will
be always found to contain distinct grains of
Quartz, and fragments of the other constituent
parts of the granite ; a small force is sufficient to
detach from the sides of these cavities additional
fragments, shewing beyond doubt, that a process
of decomposition is still going on under favour-
able circumstances ; these circumstances are the
presence of water, or rather the alternate action
of air and moisture ; if a drop of water can only
make an effectual lodgement on a surface of this
granite a small cavity must be sooner or later
produced, this insensibly enlarges as it becomes
capable of holding more water, and the sides as
they continue to waste necessarily retain an even
and rounded cavity, on account of the uniform

* A highly interesting paper " On the decomposition of the
Granite Tors of Cornwall," by this geologist, is published in the
second volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of
London.

the Grotesque Appearance of the Rocks. 211

texture of the granite. This explanation is suf-
ficiently satisfactory ; in addition to which it may
be further stated, that these very basins not un-
frequently occur on the perpendicular sides of
rocks,* which at once excludes the idea of their
artificial origin.

The other grotesque and whimsical appearances
of rocky masses, such as " rock idols, logan stones,"
&c. are to be explained upon the tendency which
granite possesses of wearing more rapidly on the
parts which are most exposed to the action of
the weather, as already explained at page 104.
There occurs upon the western part of the ridge
of Carn-brth an equipoised stone, about 20 feet
in diameter, affording a very singular illustration
of these views, and of which we shall here pre-
sent a sketch to our readers.

* This may be distiuctly seen in the granitic rocks in the islands
ofScilly; and in the Gritstone in. the park of the late Sir Joseph
Banks, in the parish of Ashover in Derbyshire.

212 Clearelandile — Carnbreh Castle.

Thus upon simple and philosophical principles
are such appearances to be easily explained, and
this Phantasmagoria of the learned antiquary
vanishes.

For the information of the Geologist who may
visit this spot, we shall state, that in a porphyritic
granite on the summit, Mr. W. Phillips has
lately discovered that some of the crystals for-
merly considered as Felspar^ were Cleavelandite ;*
and we have little doubt that this curious dis-
covery might be extended to many of the granitic
masses in Western Cornwall.

At the eastern end of the hill is Carn-breh
Castle ; the rocks upon which this building stands,
not being contiguous, are connected by arches
turned over the cavities ; one part of the fortress
pierced with loop holes is evidently very ancient,
and is supposed to have been of British work;
the other is .of modern construction, and was
probably erected as an ornamental object from
the grounds of Tehidy. There were formerly

* The only chemical difference between Cleavelandite and Fel-
spar is, that about 12 per cent, of Potass in the latter is replaced
by an equal quantity of Soda in the former. The earthy ingre-
dients in both minerals are the same, and exist in similar propor-
tions. The primary form of each is a doubly oblique prism, but
the two prisms differ so essentially from each other in the measure-
ment of their angles, that the substances are easily distinguished
from each other by the Goniometer.

Desolation of the Spot. 213

some outworks to the north-west ; and, near the
summit of the hill is a circular fortification called
the Old Castle, which appears to have been in-
cluded within a strong wall. The hill itself, on
which the spectator stands, is quite in unison
with the scene around him ; its silence and de-
solation,— the awful vestiges of its convulsion, —
and the immense rocky fragments which lie scat-
tered on its brow, are well calculated to harmo-
nize with an extended and barren tract of coun-
try, every where broken up by mining operations,
and whose horizon is bounded by the ocean.

214 To Kynance Cove, and the Lizard Point.

EXCURSION VI.

TO KYNANCE COVE, AND THE LIZARD POINT.

AN excursion to the peninsula of the Lizard
offers to the scientific traveller many objects of
great geological interest ; he will be enabled to
examine a very rare and important series of Rock
Formations, while their various gradations and
transitions into each other will afford ample ma-
terials for speculation. In the course of this
excursion it will be our duty to point out some
of the more prominent features as they may occur
in our progress ; but in performing this duty we
wish to be considered as merely presenting the
geologist with a rough and imperfect outline,
which may give a useful direction to his re-
searches, and enable him to acquire, through the
medium of his own observation, more ample and
perfect information.*

* Before his departure upon this excursion, we recommend him
to examine the very instructive suite of specimens which were col-

Fundamental Rocks of the Peninsula. 215

To the country south of a line drawn from the
mouth of the Helford river, on the east, to the
Loe-Bar on the west, has the appellation of the
" Lizard District" been exclusively applied by
Mr. Majendie ; and the division appears to have
been conventionally received by all the geologists
who have traced his steps.

The fundamental rock of this peninsula appears
to be Clay-slate, associated with Greywacke, upon
which are successively deposited Greenstone,
Diallage rock, and Serpentine. At Marazion
several alternate beds of Slate and Greenstone
may be observed; the latter of which contains
Asbestus-Actynolite, and is universally traversed
by veins of Axinite,* which occurs both in an
amorphous and crystalline form.

lected, and deposited in the Cabinet at Penzance by Mr. Ashhurst
Majendie, a gentleman whose geological labours in this country
are well known, and whose zeal and ability so greatly promoted
the early advancement of our Geological Society. This valuable
series has been greatly augmented by a Collection since presented
to the Society by The Reverend John Rogers. The Geological
tourist ought at the same time to make himself acquainted with the
observations of Mr. Majendie " On the Lizard-District," in the first
volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of
Cornwall ; and those of Mr. Professor Sedgwick, on the same sub-
ject, in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
* In the CreeJ-rocfc, an insulated mass of greenstone in the sea
beneath, there is a vein of Asbestus-Actynolite, mixed withAxinile,
from four to twelve inches wide. This is a curious spot, well
worthy the attention of the geologist.

216 Acton and Pengerswick Castles.

In the vicinity of a projecting ledge of rocks,
known by the name of Cuddan Point, stands a
mansion called Acton Castle, which was erected
as a marine residence by the late John Stackhouse,
Esq. and is at present occupied by Capt. Praed.
Its situation is wild and unsheltered, but it com-
mands a prospect of very extraordinary grandeur
and beauty.

About four miles from Marazion, and half a
mile from the high road towards the coast, are
the remains of a building called Pengerswick
Castle, a square stone tower, with a smaller one
annexed, and some ruins of walls, are all that
remain of this ancient edifice, but its machiolated
gate and embattled turrets are still preserved to
announce its military origin. The different
rooms are now converted into granaries, but the
oak wainscot, which is curiously carved and
painted, remains in a tolerable state of preser-
vation. On one of these pannels, under a rude
representation of water dropping from a rock,
with the title ," Perseverance" is the following
poetical inscription.

" What thing is harder than a rock ?

What softer is than water clear ?
Yet will the same with often drop

The hard rock pierce, which doth appear,
K von so there's nothing so hard to attayne
But may he had with labour and pain."

Rare Shells. 217

The classical reader will at once recognise in
this inscription a paraphrase of the well known
lines of Ovid :

" Quid magis est saxo durum, — Quid mollius unda?
Dura tamen molli Saxa cavantur Aqua."

There exists a tradition that this place be-
longed in the reign of Henry VIII. to one
Milliton, who having slain a man privately, pur-
chased the castle in the name of his son, and
immured himself in a secret chamber in the
tower.

On a bold pile of Granite rocks which projects
from the shore near Pengerswick, Dr. Maton
observed clusters of Trochus crassus, besides
some species of Actinia and Aslerias^ not common
on other parts of the coast. Pursuing our route
we pass through a country principally composed
of Slate, the great Granite chain running to the
left of the road, and constituting Tregoning,
Godolphin, and Breage hills. The Signal house
at the top of Tregoning hill, which is 584 feet
above the sea, constitutes the most elevated point
in the country, and from which both channels
are visible. The granite of this hill bears in
some parts all the appearance of a stratified
rock.

218 Hud Vor Tin Mine.

Upon arriving at the village of Breage^ three
miles west of Helston, the traveller should turn
off from the high road, in order to visit the Tin
Mine called Huel For, and which lies about a
mile and a half to the north-east, and is by far
the largest as well as the richest Tin Mine ever
worked in Cornwall. Here there are five large
Steam Engines for drawing the water out of the
mine, besides several others for raising the ore.
There are also four large Stamping Mills, work-
ed by Steam, which constitute by far the most
interesting part of the machinery. It is not many
years since steam was first applied as the moving
power of these mills, but without its aid it would
have been impossible to stamp the whole of Huel
Vor Tin with sufficient expedition. In this mine
all the operations are carried on which have been
already described in our excursion to Redruth,
and the Mining Districts. The ore is also roasted
and smelted on the spot. Here then the stranger
may witness the whole process, from the period
when the ore is broken in the vein, to that when
the pure Tin runs out of the furnace, and is
laded into moulds which contain about 370
pounds. The principal Tin lode in this mine is,
in one part, of the enormous width of 30 feet,
and is so rich withal, that the adventurers lately

Porlleven Harbour — Hehton. 219

gained a clear profit of upwards of j£10,000, in
the space of three months. The workings extend
for more than a mile and a quarter under ground,
and about thirteen hundred persons are engaged
in conducting its operations.

On the Coast, about three miles west of Hel-
ston, is Portleven harbour; notwithstanding the
enormous sum of money which has been expended
in completing this work, we believe that it is
never likely to answer the object for which it
was projected ; the fact is simply this, that at
those times when the severity of the weather
renders such a refuge desirable to the navigators
of the Mount's Bay, the sea sets in with such
tremendous force upon this part of the coast that
it is absolutely unsafe for any vessels to approach
it, and still more so to attempt a passage into the
basin, through its narrow entrance.

HELSTON is a large and populous town, con-
taining nearly 3000 inhabitants, situated on the
side of a hill which slopes gradually to the little
river Cober. The houses are chiefly disposed in
four streets in the form of a cross, and, at the
point of intersection, stand the market house and
town hall. The church, which was erected A.D.
1762, at the sole expense of the then Earl of
Godolphin, stands on an eminence to the north,

220 An account of the ancient

and forms a very pleasing object from the valley
below, while to the tempest tossed mariner it
serves as a useful landmark.

Helston has returned members to Parliament
ever since Edward I., being one of the five
ancient boroughs of Cornwall. There was for-
merly a castle, on the site of the present bowling
green, but of which no vestige remains. The
town is now lighted by means of gas.

In this town we shall be gratified to find the
traces of an ancient custom, which the Antiquary
has been anxious to trace to so high a source as
the Roman Floralia, a festival observed by that
people, in honour of the Goddess Flora, on the
fourth of the Calends of May. It is called the
Furry, and it is said that its present name alone
would discover its origin, were it not satisfac-
torily pointed out by the time of its celebration.
We confess ourselves to have been amongst the
happy number* who regarded the annual festival
of Helston as a faint trace of the Roman Floralia
•which the abrasion of fourteen centuries had not
wholly obliterated. But the evil genius of Reality
has at length appeared to dispel the illusion,

* As will appear on the perusal of the first edition of this little
work.

Festival, called the Furry.

and to extort from us the unwilling belief that it
can be no other than the anniversary of a victory,
obtained by the natives over an invading enemy.
The morning- of the Eighth of May is ushered
in with the sound of drums and kettles, when the
streets are soon thronged with spectators, and
assistants in the Mysteries. So strict is the ob-
servance of this day as a general holiday, that
should any person be found at work, he is in-
stantly seized, set astride on a pole, and hurried
on men's shoulders to the river, where, if he
does not commute his punishment by a fine, he is
sentenced to leap over a wide place, which he of
course fails in attempting, and falls into the
water, to the great amusement of the spectators.
At about the hour of nine the revellers appear
before the Grammar school, and make their de-
mand of a prescriptive holiday, after which they
collect contributions from house to house. They
then fade into the country (fade being an old
English word for go), and about noon return
with flowers and oak branches in their hats and
caps ; from this time they dance, hand in hand,
through the streets, preceded by a violin,* play-

* A violiu is in some parts of Cornwall called a Crowd, whence
doubtless the name of Crowdero, the fiddler in Hudibras.

222

The Furry -day Tune.

ing an ancient traditional tune, the music of
which we shall here introduce.

There is also a traditional song which is sung
in chorus, involving the history of Robin-Hood,
whose connection with the present festival it is
not easy to understand.

Upon this occasion it is a right, assumed from
time immemorial, for the persons engaged in the
dance to enter and run through any house they
please, without molestation.

The higher classes of the inhabitants having,
with much good humour, assisted in the rites of
the day, and performed their exforensic orgies,
resort to the ball room, where they are usually
met by the neighbouring families, and by those
strangers who may happen to be in this part of
Cornwall. The merry dance is commenced at

Penrose, the Scat of John Rogers, Esq. 221

an early hour, and generally protracted to the
dawn of the ensuing day.

Long may this harmless and innocent festival
continue to animate the blythe and young, on
each annual return of its celebration ; — Its classic
spell may be dissolved, but the Temple of Hi-
larity, consecrated by the smiles of Cornish youth
and beauty, needs not a Roman goddess for its
sanction.

Why ask where the Flora derives its gay birth !

Why each smiling brow wears its garland to-day ?
Enough that our sires kept it sacred to mirth,

And their children have hearts all as fervent as they.

And yet might we trace where his ashes are laid
Who first made the Fade to sound in our bowers,

To-day round his cromlech the dance should we braid,
And the fairest of Hellas* enwreath it with flowers.

And hallow'd for aye be their place of repose,

Who their race have enrich'd with a dowry so rare,

A spell — that yet brightens each year as it flows
With one gleam of Eden — a day free from care.

Then join we the Dance! to their mem'ries of yore,
Let the mirth which they lov'd be the homage we pay.

And the strain that inspir'd them long ages before,
Wake the joys, which they felt, in our bosoms to-day.

About two miles from Helston is Penrose, the
seat of John Rogers, Esq. situated in the midst
of a finely wooded scene, and on the border of a

* The ancient name of Helston. The modern apellation is de-
rived from a huge block of Granite which may be seen in the yard
of the Angel Inn — Ilellas-stone, or Helslon.

224 The Loe Pool.

large sheet of water called the Loe Pool; this
forms one of the most considerable lakes in the
county, and is produced by a very singular ope-
ration of nature, — the continual rolling of the
waves of the British Channel towards the shore
forces in a vast quantity of sand and pebbles,
which, by constant accumulation, at length forms
a very high bank extending across the valley,
from hill to hill, and by closing up the mouth of
the channel occasions the river to spread its
waters over an area of nearly seven miles in cir-
cumference. This bar of gravel cannot be passed
over by the waves of the highest tides, even
during the excitement of a storm, unless it be
attended with a very rare combination of circum-
stances. The water of the lake gradually finds
its way through the gravel of the bar by slow
filtration ; but in wet seasons, as it cannot pass off
with a rapidity equal to its influx, the lake will
often rise ten feet higher than its ordinary level.
This produces the singular effect of stopping two
mills, one on the Loe, the other on a lateral
stream, their wheels being at this time partly un-
der water. When this occurs the millers present
the Lord of the Manor with two leathern purses,
each containing three halfpence, and solicit his
permission to open a passage through the bar.

Loe Pool.— Terrace of the Lhard. 225

This being of course granted, the Mayor of Hel-
ston engages workmen to carry the work into
effect. In a few days, however, the bar is again
filled up as before.

The Loe Pool abounds with a peculiar trout,
and other fresh-water fish. On its banks the
Botanist may gather Corrigiola Littoralis.

In proceeding to the Lizard Point, which is
about fourteen miles distant from Helston, we
shall examine the line of coast south of the Loe
bar. The interior of this peninsular region has
an aspect of dreary and barren uniformity, and
when viewed from the high granite ridge near
Constantine, it appears like a table land elevated
some hundred feet above the level of the sea,
presenting hardly any indication of rupture or
contortion throughout the whole extent of its
outline. The view of the same region from the
western shore of the Mount's Bay is still more
striking and characteristic; the upper surface
seems so exactly horizontal, that one might al-
most be led to conjecture, that every projecting
ledge had been planed down until the promon-
tory resembled a great artificial terrace.*

* On the physical structure of the Lizard district, by the Rev.
A Sedgwick.

226 Geological Account

Near Gunwalloe Co-ce the geologist should no-
tice the singularly contorted appearance of the
slaty rock, which continues as far as a small cove
north of Mullion, called Bolerium, where it
runs under a Greenstone composed of Hornblende
and Compact Felspar. The Greenstone prevails
through the whole of this district, and appears to
pass by a slow gradation into Serpentine, under
which it lies, as may be distinctly' seen near the
south side of Mullion Cove.* A small quantity
of Diallage is occasionally present in this rock,
but the predominant ingredient is common Horn-
blende', and where this latter substance greatly
predominates over the Felspar, it in some places
assumes an earthy appearance and decomposes
into a kind of Clay, which is used in the neigh-
bourhood with excellent effect as a top dressing
for grass lands.

Serpentine is the next formation which we dis-
cover in our progress, and is that which confers
such singular interest upon this part of the coun-
ty, since it occurs in no other part of England.
This beautiful rock derives its name from the
variegated colours and spots, supposed to resem-

* The same relative position of these rocks may also be observed
at Cadgteith, an interesting part of the coast north-east of the Lizard
Point, and which we shall have occasion to notice hereafter.

of the Lizard District. 227

ble the speckles of a serpent's skin ; it is prin-
cipally of a dark green or brown, suffused with
shades of red. It occupies not less than one-
third of the area of the peninsula ; the whole
extent of Goonhilly downs rests on it. Its bound-
ary is easily traced, says Mr. Sedgzoick, by the
brown scanty vegetation with which its surface is
imperfectly covered; and the Professor might
have added, by the growth of that beautiful
heath, the Erica Vagans, for so congenial and
essential would a Magnesian soil appear to
its production, that notwithstanding its im-
mense profusion on the downs, not a single spe-
cimen is to be found beyond the line which defines
the boundary of the Serpentine formation, nor is
it to be seen in any other part of England.
Genista Anglica is also to be found on these
downs.

About three miles south of Mullion, close to
the shore, is the celebrated Steatite, or Soap
Hock, which appears to run in veins* in the Ser-

* Sir H. Davy, in a paper on the Geology of Cornwall, pub-
lished in the first volume of our Transactions, observes that " the
nature and origin of the veins of Steatite in Serpentine are curious
subjects of inquiry. Were they originally crystallized, and the
result of chemical deposition ? Or have they been, as for the most
part they are now found, mere mechanical deposites, I am inclined
to the last opinion. The Felspar in Serpentine is very liable 1o
decompose, probably from the action of Carbonic acid and water

228 The Soap Rock.

pentine, although Dr. Thomson is inclined to
consider it as Serpentine itself in a state of de-
composition. When it is first quarried it is soft,
but by exposure to air it gradually hardens, al-
though it never loses that peculiar soapy feel
which characterises it. Dillwyn & Co. of Swansea
have, at present, the works in their possession, by
paying to the proprietor, Lord Falmouth, a cer-
tain annual sum. Its value in the manufacture
of China depends upon its infusibility, and the
property it possesses of retaining its colour in
the heat of the furnace ; the first quality is to be
explained by the total absence of lime in its
composition, the latter by the very small pro-
portion of metallic matter contained in it. There
is, moreover, another purpose which it serves,
depending upon the peculiar property of Mag-
nesian earth in preventing that degree of con-
traction* which always occurs in the fire when
Alumina and Silica are alone made use of. Near
this spot veins of Native Copper may be fre-

on its Alkaline, Calcareous, and Magnesian elements ; and its parts
washed down by water, and deposited in the chasms of the rocks,
would necessarily gain that kind of loose aggregation belonging to
Steatite."

* It might on this account be worth while for the Glass-maker
to try the effects of a small mixture of Steatite with the materials
of which he makes his large crucibles, in order to prevent that
great degree of shrinking to which they are now so liable.

Kynance Cove. 229

quently seen at low water during spring tides,
and a mass of this metal was once raised which
weighed 104 pounds. Copper is the only metal-
lic substance that has been found in any quantity
in the Serpentine formation; and this has never
occurred except native, as in the above instance,
or in the state of Green Carbonate, so that the
mining adventurer need not anticipate much ad-
vantage from it.

About a mile farther south is KYNANCE COVE,
justly celebrated as one of the most interesting
and extraordinary spots on the coast ; the descent
into it is extremely steep, and overhung with
frowning crags ; the cove itself is formed by a
numerous assemblage of Serpentine rocks of a
dark colour, and which exhibit a beautiful polish
from the constant attrition of the waves at high
water; in one part, these groups are so singu-
larly disposed as to open a fine natural arch into
a grotto, which penetrates deeply into the cliff;
the largest of these pyramidal masses is termed
the ASPARAGUS ISLAND, from its being the
habitat of Asparagus Ojficinalis. One of the
rocks in this cove exhibits a very curious phe-
nomenon whimsically called the DEVIL'S BEL-
LOWS; there is a very deep chasm, through which
the sea rushes like a water spout, preceded by a

230 The Devil's Bellows.

submarine rumbling, as loud as thunder; a flow-
ing tide, accompanied with a swell of the waves,
seems to be essential for the production of this
effect. De Luc offers the following explanation
of the phenomenon ; " In the rock there is a
succession of caverns, into which the agitated sea

' O

rushes by some sub-marine passage, and being
dashed and broken against their sides, a large
quantity of air* is thus disengaged from them,
which becoming highly compressed, and not
being able to escape beneath, in consequence of
the perpetual entrance of the waves, is forced to
pass with great violence and noise from cavern
to cavern, until it forces itself, together with a
column of water, through the opening above."
Amongst jthese beautiful rocks may be seen Dial-
lage of a brown colour; Jade; compact Felspar,
or Saussurite ; and Asbestus. Di/kes of Felspar
Porphyry are also to be observed in this spot.
It is hardly necessary to inform the geological
tourist that, in order to view this interesting
scene to his satisfaction, he must contrive to
arrive at a period near that of low water.

* The quantity of air thus separated from water is so great that
in the Alps and in the Pyrennees, very powerful bellows are made
for forges by the fall of a column of water, through a wooden pipe,
into a closed cask, 'in which it dashes on a stone in the bottom,
when the air thus dhengmged from it is curried by another pipe
placed in the cover of the cask into the foundery.

Lizard Light Houses. 231

On the summit of the hill above this cove the
Botanist will observe Geranium Sangitineum
spreading itself in broad tufts. Campanula Ro-
tundifolia also occurs here.

Continuing our route towards Cape Lizard,
we shall perceive that the Serpentine terminates
about half a mile before we reach it, and is suc-
ceeded by Micaceous Slate, under which, at the
Lizard head lie alternate beds of Compact Fel-
spar, containing specks of Hornblende and green
Talc. There are two light-houses at this point
which front the south, and stand nearly abreast
of each other, but unhappily they are too often
found to be insufficient securities against the
darkness of the midnight storm, and the treachery
of the sunken rocks with which this stern coast
is beset. Foreign pilots, unacquainted with its
perils, seldom keep the necessary distance from
the shore, and from the steepness of the rocks no
kind of assistance can be afforded to the mariner
from the land.

On a low hedge under the light-houses is to be
founAHerniariaGlabra. It was here in the pur-
suit of this very plant that a well known Botanist,
during the late war, was seized as a spy by the
suspicious natives, and carried to Ilelston for
examination. The increased intercourse, how-

232 Eastern Coast of the Lizard.

ever, with scientific travellers, will render the
recurrence of such an event impossible.

The name of the promontory was most proba-
bly derived from the striking contour which it
exhibits when viewed from sea, resembling the
elongated and compressed form of the Lizard ;
at the same time it must be observed, that the
colour of its rocks resemble also that of the ani-
mal to which we allude, while the British words
Lis-ard signify a lofty projection ; these are ex-
traordinary coincidences, and are well calculated
to fan the flame of etymological controversy.

If after visiting this promontory, the traveller
feels inclined to trace the different rock forma-
tions, and to complete his geological survey of
the Lizard Chersonesus, we recommend him to
return by a circuitous route along its eastern
coast. Greenstone reappears about half a mile
east of the Lizard Point, and continues for some
distance, with the occasional interruption of Ser-
pentine, which dips towards the sea. This latter
rock will be found best adapted fcr economical
purposes at the Balk Hill, Landezvednock, but
it is certainly far inferior to that worked for
chimney pieces, columns, &c. from the quarries
in the Isle of Anglesea. Near Cadgwith the rocks
on the coast form a very interesting and extra-

The Frying Pan. 233

ordinary amphitheatre, which is termed by the
inhabitants the FRYING PAN, although the ap-
pellation of CAULDRON, which it strongly re-
sembles, would be much more appropriate. Its
sides are nearly two hundred feet in height,
and, at high water, the sea enters it and boils
up through an arch near its bottom. In this
spot the position of the Serpentine upon Green-
stone is very apparent. Beyond Cadgwith the
Serpentine assumes a dark green colour, and
contains small masses of the emerald green Dial-
lage, or Schiller-spar; whence it continues to
constitute the coast round the Black Head to
Coverack Cove. About a mile from the coast at
G&enter, the rock denominated by Abbe Haiiy
" Diallage Rock" (Gabbro) presents itself to
our notice ; it is composed of Saussurile, or Com-
pact Felspar, and Diallage Metalloide. In a
quarry near this spot it may be seen to join
Serpentine. In the Diallage Rock, at a small
village near the coast called Gwendra, as well
as in the rock of Saint Keverne, Mr. Majendie
discovered some small metallic specks, which he
found on chemical examination to consist of
Iron, with a portion of Titanium. Some of the
same substance was immediately transmitted to
Mr. William Gregor, who stated that the results

234 Coverack Core, a spot

of his experiments proved it to be an assemblage
of several ingredients, viz. Silica, Alumina, and
the Oxides of Iron and Titanium, with a little
Potass. Some of which ingredients were no
doubt derived from the gangue with which the
metallic substance is intimately mixed. This is
a discovery no less curious than important, and
would seem to point out the origin of the Men-
uchanite, in which Titanium was first discovered
by Mr. Gregor.

The great mass of Serpentine ends at Coverack
Cove, a spot which well deserves the attention
of the Geologist, as offering a series of rocks of
a very mixed character; these consist of green
and reddish-brown Serpentine, with the Jade of
Saussure, (the feldspath tenace of Haiiy) and
Diallage * of the green and metalloide varieties ;
some of the Felspar found here is of a violet
colour, and is striated like that of Labrador.
In beds which lie below high- water mark in
this Cove the mineralogist may obtain masses
of Diallage Metallo'ide, six or eight inches in

* This substance presents with great distinctness those charac-
ters which distinguish it from Hornblende, viz. inferior hardness,
difficult fusibility into a green enamel, and peculiar cleavage
•which discovers a considerable lustre in one direction which is
entirely absent in the other ; whereas Hornblende has natural
joints of the same lustre in two directions.

of the greatest Geological Interest. 235

length. t A beautiful rock succeeds and con-
tinues for three miles along the coast to the
Manacles ; and in the interior of the country it
predominates through the greater part of the
parish of Saint Keverne. It has compact Felspar
for its base, in which are imbedded crystals both
of Diallage and Hornblende. In the proportion,
as well as the magnitude of these constituents,
says Mr. Professor Sedgwick, there is such an
unusual variety, that we were almost led to
conjecture, that during the deposition of the
mass many conflicting principles had been in
action, not one of which was long able to keep
the mastery over the others ; there are for in-
stance many large blocks which in one part
resemble a fine Greenstone, and in another, a
coarse porphyritic Diallage Rock; within the
distance of a few feet these varieties may be
observed to alternate repeatedly, sometimes in
the form of stripes, but more frequently in amor-
phous concretions separated from each other bv

+ Mr. Majendie presented some of these specimens to Abbe
Haiiy, and compared them with those in the cabinet of that
illustrious mineralogist, which were brought from the hill of
Mussinet near Turin. M. Haiiy observed upon this occasion, that
the Coverack Specimens did not consist of pure Diallage, but that
fibres of common Hornblende interrupted its texture. That of
Munsinel is foliated, and has no such intermixture.

236 Tregonwell Mill.— Menace ban.

lines which are perfectly defined. Schistose
Greenstone occurs again at Porthowstock, and a
small bed of Serpentine, on the south-west side
ofPorthal/o in the cliff, which rests on a reddish
Talc which lies, as before, on Clay Slate. No
other variety is observable from hence to the
Helford River, except in the appearance of a
Pudding Stone, or Conglomerate, near the Dennis
Creek, composed of rounded fragments of Slate
in which veins of Quartz are distinctly visible.
The traveller will not fail to visit the stream of
Tregonwell Mill,* near the village of Menacchan,
celebrated as the habitat of the Titaniferous Iron
( Menacchanite, or Gregorite) discovered by the
late celebrated Mr. William Gregor.t He will
also receive much gratification by extending his
route to Mawnan Cliffs, where he will observe
a most extraordinary intermixture of fine and
coarse grained (GrawackePj slate, which are
traversed by many contemporaneous veins, some
composed of Quartz, and others of Ferriferous

* For a long period this was considered as the only Cornish
habitat of this mineral ; but Dr. Paris subsequently identified
its presence in a sand brought from a stream near the house of
Colonel Sandys at Lanarth. See " Transactions of the Royal
Geological Society of Cornwall." Vol. I. p, 226.

t See a History of this curious discovery in " A Memoir on the
Life and Scientific Labours of the Rev, William Gregor, by
J. A. Paris, M. D."— London, 1818.

Mawnan Cliffs. 237

Carbonate of Lime; some small cavities are
coated with fine spicular Arragonite, and a much
rarer substance, which on a chemical examina-
tion by Mr. Giegor proved to be a Sub-carburet
of Iron, has been found in thin plates among
the laminae of the Slate. The Reverend John
Rogers has also obtained from this spot small
octohedral crystals of the Yellow Sulphuret of
Copper.

From a general review of the phenomena de-
veloped in the present excursion, Mr. Professor
Sedgwick is led to conclude, that the great Pla-
teau of the Lizard is not composed of stratified
rocks, for although some obscure indications of
an order of super-position appear near Covtrack
and Porlhalla, yet he considers them as being
too uncertain to be opposed to the clear evidence
offered to the south-eastern parts of the coast,
where the alternating masses of Greenstone and
Serpentine so often appear, like great wedges
driven side by side into the escarpment, without
any arrangement whatsoever. Mr. Majendie,
however, who, be it known, actually bivouacked
in this district for a week, was satisfied that the
Greenstone and Serpentine did exhibit characters
of Stratification. — But we desist — feeling what
no doubt our readers have likewise experienced,

238 Conclusion.

the dry and uninviting nature of Geological
details. — Having therefore completed the task
we assigned ourselves, and conducted the tra-
veller to the more prominent and interesting
objects of WESTERN CORNWALL, we take our
leave. The Agriculturist, the Antiquary, the
Botanist, the Geologist, and Mineralogist, must,
each in his turn, have received ample gratifica-
tion and instruction from his visit to this inte-
resting and important district of the British
Empire, while the Capitalist must have seen
from the agriculture, the mineral treasures, the
fisheries, and the commerce of the country, how
many, and what great opportunities are pre-
sented for the advantageous exercise of capital;
the Valetudinarian too has, as we sincerely hope,
derived his share of benefit from the excursions,
and felt the salutary influence of those mild and
genial breezes which clothe our fields with per-
petual verdure, and impart to our cottagers the
enviable blessing of HEALTH and LONG LIFE.

APPENDIX.

PART I.

A DIALOGUE

Between Dr. A. — a Physician, and Mr. B —
an Invalid, on the comparative merits of dif-
ferent Climates, as places of Winter residence.

" Ne quis error loci nascatur — "

Mr. B. — In a conversation which we held together
in the early part of the summer, you will remember the
promise you then gave of affording me such advice,
relative to the choice of a winter's residence, as the
declining state of my health might require. The
autumn is now rapidly advancing, and I feel that no
time should be lost in making such arrangements as
may enable me to pass the approaching winter with the
greatest prospect of benefit.

Dr. A. — I fully acquiesce in the propriety of your
resolution, and shall readily afford you any information
in my power ; but you well know that to a physician

240 Appendix

there is not a question which he approaches with so
much diffidence, or dismisses with such little satisfac-
tion.

Mr. B. — I am well aware of the difficulties to which
you refer, circumstances of a moral nature, with which
the physician can rarely become sufficiently acquainted,
must necessarily have considerable weight in directing
the decision j but in my own case it is fortunate that
no such embarrassment can impede your judgment.
My only object and care is the restoration of health,
and my means are sufficient to enable me to pursue it
in any way which may give the fairest promise of
success.

Dr. A. — You mistake me, it was not to embarrass-
ments of that kind that I was alluding.

Mr. B. — Can then any other source of difficulty
exist ? To a medical practitioner who is in the habit
of sending his patients to all parts of Europe in search
of health, the real and comparative advantages of each
locality must surely be well known.

Dr. A. — Far otherwise, my dear friend ; there are
few subjects upon which medical men have more widely
differed. It is true that we send our pulmonary suf-
fererers to various parts of the continent, and that we
receive from them a multiplicity of reports ; but then
they are often totally at variance with each other upon
those very points which are generally considered as the
least questionable ; and when we attempt to reconcile
this discordance, by an appeal to meteorological re-
cords, and registers of prevalent diseases, we are mor-
tified to find that the evidence necessary for forming
a safe and practical conclusion, requires a union of
industry and accuracy which has not hitherto been

On Climate. 241

found to exist in a sufficient number of collateral ob-
servers. Nor must it be forgotten, that the disease,
for the cure of which the invalid is persuaded to emi-
grate, may require a very different atmosphere in its
different stages and forms ; and after all, how often does
it happen that the sufferer is not sent abroad, until every
chance of palliation has gone by.

Mr. B. — I do not hesitate to declare that such con-
duct, on the part of a medical adviser, is as cruel as it
is unprincipled ; my confidence however in your in-
tegrity satisfies me that you will never abandon an
unhappy sufferer to such a useless alternative ; I must
therefore request you to state your opinion, generally,
as to the peculiar conditions upon which you consider
the eligibility of a climate, in the cure or palliation of
pulmonary affections, to depend.

Dr. A. — This I shall do most cheerfully, especially
in conversation with one, whose philosophical pursuits
will have already instructed him in those principles,
from which our conclusions are necessarily deduced. —
Congenial warmth, and, above all, equability of tem-
perature, are the first objects of inquiry in the theo-
retical comparison of climates ; but these cannot be
practically ascertained, in relation to their effects upon
the human body, by the thermometer ; because they
are constantly liable to be modified by causes of which
we have no other indication but that afforded by our
sensations.

Mr. B. — That is strange ; — and, so gratuitous does
the assertion appear to me, that I should be better
satisfied were you to support it by some examples.

Dr. A. — Well then, I may instance for your satis-
faction, the well known influence of peculiar winds
Q

242 Appendix

combined with moisture, and which, although they
may produce little or no variation in the thermometer
will rapidly rob the body of its heat ; the north-west
winds which so commonly blow in the southern pro-
vinces of France are decidedly more mischievous to
the pulmonary invalid than the March winds that de-
solate the more delicate frames in our own country,
and yet the thermometer in this case affords no indi-
cation of their nature.

Mr. B. — No one who wishes to form a just estimate
of a climate, can doubt the propriety of taking the
prevalence of wind, and the degree of atmospheric
moisture into the account; although reasoning, from
analogy, I should not suppose that this latter circum-
stance would be prejudicial ; look at the moist and
foggy atmosphere of Holland, and yet I am told that
catarrhal affections are extremely rare in that country.

Dr. A. — Moisture must make both heat and cold
more sensible; the one, by diminishing perspiration,
the other, by increasing the conducting power of the
air;* humidity therefore may be an injurious, or a
salutary condition, according to circumstances; but
you are greatly mistaken in supposing that the Dutch
owe their immunity from Catarrh to the dampness of
their climate, for it is to be imputed to the greater
equability of its temperature.

Mr. B. You no doubt place great stress upon the
advantage of an equable climate.

Dr. A. I consider equability as the most important
condition of all ; especially where the temperature ran-
ges at about 60° of Fahrenheit. It not only diminishes
the chance of aggravating pulmonary disease by pre-

* See Paris's Pliarmacologia, vol. 1, chap. " Expectorants"

On Climate. 243

venting Catarrhs, but it serves to preserve a genial and
regular action of the skin, to keep the balance of blood
constantly on the surface, and to prevent any undue
congestion of it in the lungs. Besides, it is acknow-
ledged on all sides, that consumption is most prevalent
in countries and districts •which are subject to great and
rapid changes of temperature, and that it is compara-
tively rare in those which are free from the diurnal
changes and sudden transitions which so characterise
that of our own island.

Mr. B. Nothing can be more convincing than such
reasoning ; — but tell me for what reason you consider
the temperature of 60° as an essential condition under
these circumstances.

Dr. A. It is evident that no climate, however equa-
ble it may be thermometrically^ can be considered as
such in a medical point of view, if its temperature ran-
ges much below the degree I have mentioned ; because
in that case a material change must always occur when-
ever the invalid quits his apartment, and goes into the
open air. So that I consider a cold climate must in
effect be always regarded as a variable one.

Mr. B. But cannot this objection be obviated by
suitable cloathing ?

Dr. A. To a certain extent perhaps, but recollect if
you please, that there is no furnishing a great coat for
the lungs, to protect their structure against the di-
minished temperature of the air which is breathed.

Mr. B. What opinion have you formed respecting
the effects of a marine atmosphere ?

Dr. A. I apprehend that question cannot be fairly
answered without a reference to the symptoms and cir-
cumstances of each particular case ; generally speaking,
Q2

244 Appendix

I am induced to consider the air of the sea as not hos-
tile to diseased lungs, except perhaps in those cases in
which Hectic fever is fully established ; but then again
cases will sometimes occur which would appear to
sanction a contrary conclusion. Thus much I should
say was certainly true, that in such situations you will
always experience more humidity, and that when the
air is cold, that cold will in consequence be more in-
tolerable, for the reasons I have before stated. On the
other hand you must be aware that a marine situation
will enjoy a more equable temperature* than one simi-
larly situated, but remote from the ocean, and as far as
that goes it will have its advantages.

Mr. B. I should much like to know what the con-
tinental physicians think of this circumstance, with
reference to their own climate.

Dr. A. Upon that point you may be easily satisfied
by referring to Dr. Clark's work on foreign climates.t
He says that the physicians on the sea coast send their
consumptive patients into the interior, and those in the
interior to the shores of the Mediterranean or Adriatic.
From Genoa they send them into the interior, deeming
the sea air injurious to them. From Naples they fre-
quently send such invalids to Rome. From Rome, on
the other hand, they send them frequently to Civita
Vecchia, on the shores of the Mediterranean ; more
frequently to the shores of the Adriatic, and, occasion-
ally, even to Naples !

Mr. B. And is this account to satisfy me ? why I
am plunged deeper in doubt than ever by such testi-

* See page 5 of the Guide.

•f Medical Notes on Climate, Diseases, &c. in France, Italy, and
Switzerland, by James Clark, M.D. London 1820.

On Climate. 245

mony. No wonder that the physician should approach
the subject of Climate with diffidence when he finds
those best able, from experience, to appreciate its me-
rits, so irreconcileably at variance with each other. In
the next place, let me ask whether you advocate the
advantages of a Sea Voyage ?

Dr. A. Not unconditionally. Dr. Young has said,
and I believe with much truth, that the greatest possible
equability of temperature is to be obtained in a sea
voyage to a warm climate ; in which the variation will
seldom amount to half as much as in the most favour-
able situation on shore, even on a small island.

Mr. B. The very condition which, of all others,
you consider the most beneficial.

Dr. A. Undoubtedly, and if you can make interest
with Neptune to push you forward with his trident,
and persuade ./Eolus to slumber quietly in his caverns,
lose no time in availing yourself of such advantages;
but as long as the wind " bloweth where it listeth," I
entreat you, my good friend, to remain on terrajirma',
depend upon it that experience will fully sanction this
advice ;— of the great number of patients who have
been sent on such an errand, by far the greatest pro-
portion have had the progress of their pectoral com-
plaints rapidly accelerated during the voyage ; remember
the various kinds of physical injury and distress to
which you must be exposed on board of ship, before
you can reach a steady and warm climate, from bad
weather, and different local causes which it is not neces-
sary to enumerate; — four and twenty hours beating to
windward are sufficient to counterbalance all the ad-
vantages that might be anticipated.

Mr. B. Why you must surely have been inoculated

246 Appendix

with the prejudices of Mr. Matthews, who tells us that
the fatigue and discomfort of a vessel is much the same
thing as being tossed in a blanket during one half of the
day, and thrown into a pigsty for the remainder.

Dr. A. I never was more serious. If the weather
be bad the patient has but one alternative, he is either
half suffocated with smoke or an oppressive atmosphere
in the cabin, or exposed on deck to cutting winds, rain,
and cold, and to an air by far too free for diseased
lungs; then again sea sickness, whatever may have
been said to the contrary, reduces his strength rapidly,
and if damp sheets are the bug-bears of land travellers,
damp clothes of every description are unavoidable at
sea, and which in stormy weather can seldom be dried.

Mr. B. Well, you will at least allow that the motion
of a ship is preferable to that of a carriage on a rough
road.

Dr. A. I will not even concede this point, and were
you only to read the interesting case of Dr. Currie, I am
sure that you would be soon convinced of the contrary.

Mr. B. The opinion you have now expressed is suf-
ficient ; I shall not be readily induced to make the
experiment of a sea voyage ; suppose me then, if you
please, to have been already transported across the
channel on a calm day in a Steam-boat, and tell me to
what part of the continent I am to direct my steps, in
order to find a suitable residence for the winter months.
I take it for granted that you consider the English
Climate, from June to October as salutary to natives as
that of any country in the world.

Dr. A. Beyond question ; — but as an invalid who
seeks permanent advantage from a foreign climate must
be content to remain abroad for, at least, two winters,

On Climate. 247

you will readily perceive that the consideration of his
residence during the summer season is not entirely a
subject of indifference.

Mr. B. My inclination would lead me to the south
of France in preference to a more distant residence, pro-
vided the place should meet with your full concurrence.

Dr. A. The places to which English invalids have
been more usually sent are Montpellier, Marseilles,
Toulon, and Hieres ; but I never ventured an opinion
with less reserve when I declare, that I regard the very
coldest parts of our own country to he less inimical to
delicate lungs than the sharp and piercing air of the
places which I have just mentioned. As to Montpellier,
I am at a loss to understand how it could ever have
obtained a reputation for its climate ; and yet so uni-
versal was the belief, that its very name became, as you
must well know, a characteristic epithet to places sup-
posed to be preeminently salubrious.

Mr. B. Is it not remarkable for its clear blue sky,
the very idea of which will always carry a charm with
it to an Englishman ?

Dr. A. Clear and brilliant enough, but the air is at
the same time so sharp and biting, that every mouthful
irritates the lungs, and produces excessive coughing, —
and then you are, moreover, constantly assailed by one
or the other of two destructive winds, — the Bize bring-
ing cold, and the Mat-in, moisture.

Mr. B. And yet to this same Bize, of whose sharp-
ness you so greatly complain, did the Emperor Augustus
erect an altar.

Dr. A. Very true, but we are told it was an homage
like that which the Indians are said to pay to the infer-
nal deity ; to avert its wrath, not to conciliate its favour.

218 Appendix

Mr. D. Is the locality of Marseilles less exception-
able ?

Dr. A. By no means. Cold winds are always inju-
rious, but they are rendered destructive, in a tenfold
proportion, when alternated with heat. At Marseilles
the dreaded Mistral of Provence (a north-west wind),
•which is often accompanied by a clear atmosphere, and
a powerful sun, reigns in all its glory. Toulon has the
damning fault of Marseilles.

Mr. B. Is Hieres exposed to the same evil ?

Dr. A. Not in the same degree. It has generally
the credit of being much milder, and I really believe
that it is justly preferred to every other place in Pro-
vence,— but it is not free from the Mistral. Dr. Clark,
however, tells us that about the bases of the hills, there
are some sheltered spots, where the invalid might enjoy
several hours in the open air on almost every dry day,
but then there exists a difficulty in reaching them at
those times, when they would be most useful.

Mr. B. I see plainly, that a residence in the south
of France would never realize my hopes of recovery ;
perhaps Nice may be more likely to afford satisfaction ?

Dr. A. Nice, as you probably know, was first
brought into vogue by our celebrated countryman, Dr.
Smollet, who resided there during two winters, and it
has been extolled by numerous writers since (hat period ;
the northern blasts, which rage with such fury in the
south of ¥ ranee, are averted from this favoured valley
by the maritime alps. Dr. Smollet, in speaking of its
superior mildness, when compared with Provence, says,
" the north-west winds blew as cold in Provence as
ever I felt them on the mountains of Scotland, whereas
Nice is altogether screened from them by mountains."

On Climate. 249

Mr. B. If I have been correctly informed, the
neighbourhood of Nice is on many accounts preferable
to the town itself.

Dr. A. The suburbs of the l Croix de Marbre1 have
been the favourite residence of the English, and indeed
on that account are not unfrequently called the c Faux-
bourg des Anglois'. This spot is situated immediately
beyond the river Paglion^ which, descending from its
Alpine sources, washes the western extremity of the
town and falls into the bay of Nice.

Mr. B. What accommodations are to be met with
at Nice ?

Dr. A. I have always understood that provisions
are both good and abundant ; some of my patients,
however, have complained greatly of the bread as being
sour and ill tasted from the leaven. As to the other ac-
commodations, Dr. Clark says that they are also good,
making allowance always for the inconveniences which,
to an English family, are inseparable from foreign
houses, such as smoky apartments, ill provided fire
places, &c.

Mr. B. Now state, if you please, the objections
that may be urged against Nice.

Dr. A. In the commencement of the winter, this
valley is remarkably infested with mosquitoes, which
greatly annoy strangers, especially children. During
the months of November, December, and January, the
climate would seem to embrace all the qualities so
favourable to pectoral complaints, but the three follow-
ing months are by no means unexceptionable. Although
Nice be protected from the Mistral, yet in the spring
of the year it is infested with cold sharp winds from the

250 Appendix

east, and north and south-east, which are highly mis-
chievous to the valetudinarian.

Mr. B. It is clear then that he should quit Nice at
this season.

Dr. A. That is not so easy as you may suppose, for
unless be leaves it by sea, he must not venture to depart
by any of the usual roads before the month of May; for
should he direct his route to Turin, he will have a very
rough and hazardous journey over the '* Col de Tende^
and may perchance be caught in a snow storm ; if on
the other hand, he returns by France, he must cross the
" EstrelleSf' and expose himself to the cold winds of
Provence.

Mr. B. Well these are strong objections ; but taking
into consideration all the advantages and disadvantages
of Nice, will not the former so greatly preponderate,
as to entitle it to the character it has long enjoyed as
an eligible winter residence for the consumptive ?

Dr. A. I fear that medical experience will not
sanction such a conclusion. Catarrhal affections are
frequent amongst the inhabitants, and it has been re-
marked by those best able to investigate the subject,
that the progress of pulmonary disease is rather accele-
rated than retarded by this climate. If you will allow
me, I will read a passage from a late work by Dr.
Carter, which places this subject in a very striking
point of view. " Notwithstanding the mildness of
Nice, it appeared to be of little or no service to per-
sons labouring under confirmed consumption ; during
the winter I was there, I saw no instance of great
amendment, and I even doubted whether life was not
shortened in some instances by a residence there. Some
medical meu were clearly of that opinion ; and as their

On Climate. 251

interest should have led them to speak well of Nice,
they must have been pretty strongly impressed with the
conviction of its climate being hurtful to people in con-
firmed Phthisis, before they could have been induced
to make this opinion public." *

Mr, B. This is discouraging ; but is the testimony
of Dr. Carter supported by other authorities ?

Dr. A. By many others. Here is a work by Dr.
Clark, who is himself resident at Rome, and a physician
of great intelligence ; he not only confirms the opinion
of Dr. Carter, but adduces that of Professor Fodere
who practised at Nice for more than six years, and who
in a conversation with Dr. Clark, made the following
strong observation. " There is one thing certain, Sir,
you may safely assure your countrymen, that it is a very
bad practice to send their consumptive patients to Nice."
M. Fodere moreover observed, that consumption in this
district is not, as in Switzerland, on the banks of the
Soane, and in Alsace, a chronic disease ; but, on the
contrary, he has often seen it terminate in forty days ;
he says that the physician of the countries just men-
tioned would be quite astonished at the quickness with
which one attack of pulmonary hemorrhage succeeds
another, how readily the tubercles suppurate, and how
speedily the lungs are destroyed." He is even inclined
to believe that there exists, on the shores of the Medi-
terranean, some source of evil not appreciable by
meteorological observations.

* A Short Account of some of the Principal Hospitals of France,
Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, with Remarks upon the
Climate and Diseases ef those Countries. By 11. W. Carter, M.D.
London 1819,

252 Appendix

Mr. B. Enough of Nice. What of Pisa ?

Dr. A. You may perhaps remember that Mr. Mat-
thews, in his comparison of these two places, says,
" I belie?e that Pisa is the very best place on the con-
tinent during the winter for complaints of the chest ;
and Nice, of which I speak from good authority, is
perhaps the very worst. The air of the first, which is
situated in a low plain, is warm, mild, and muggy ;
that of the second is pure, keen, and piercing."

Mr. B. To speak honestly, I entertain a very high
respect for Mr. Matthews as an intelligent and agree-
able tourist, but he is the very last authority upon
which I could repose my confidence, with regard to the
salubrity of a climate ; his observations upon this head
are too fretful and petulant to afford satisfaction.

Dr. A. His remarks upon Nice and Pisa will cer-
tainly justify the opinion you have formed ; for there
does not exist such a striking difference in the climate
of these places as he has been induced to believe ; al-
though the latter town is certainly milder than Nice,
and possesses the advantage of having good roads lead-
ing to it from all parts of Italy, so that the invalid may
leave it with safety much earlier than he could Nice.

Mr. B. Are the spring winds less violent than at
Nice ?

Dr. A. Scarcely. The site of the houses, however,
is better calculated to defend you from their influence.
On the northern bank of the Arno, there is a crescent
which faces the south, and is well protected from the
north winds ; this situation ought always to be selected
by invalids who winter at Pisa.

Mr. B. If I resolve to winter in Italy, I shall pro-
bably prefer Pisa. I confess that I have received a

On Climate, 253

prejudice against Rome, as well as Naples, from the
reports of some frieuds who have lately returned from,
those places; but I should be glad to hear your opinion,
upon the subject.

Dr. A. Rome and Naples ought not to be named in
the same breath, unless indeed for the sake of contrast.
Rome possesses many points of excellence as a winter
residence, but as to Naples at this season, I would not
recommend an invalid, on any account, to try its cli-
mate : — conceive the effects of a hot sun with a winter
wind of piercing bitterness ! " Vedi Napoli e po> mori"
says the proverb, and no wonder that it has received so
many illustrations from the English. Upon this one
point at least we must all concur with Mr. Matthews:
u If," says he, " a man be tired of the slow lingering
progress of consumption, let him repair to Naples; and
the denouement will be much more rapid."

Mr. B. But what of Rome— of the Eternal City ?

Dr. A. That vehemence of expression, my good
friend, betrays your polarity ; in spite of your avowal I
see clearly that your wishes point to the ancient Mis-
tress of the world.

Mr. B. You really mistake me; — depend upon it
that I shall undertake no pilgrimage but to the temple
of Hygeia.

Dr. A. Rome has, by far, too many temptations for
the invalid, and I confess that from the accounts which
I have received from my patients, I am unable to dis-
cover any advantages equivalent to the risks.

Mr. B. I am even told that the climate of Rome is
much colder than that of Nice in the winter.

Dr. A. You have been rightly informed ; in addition
to which, the streets are damp and chilly, and so vari-

254 Appendix

able in temperature, that there is not unfrequently a
difference of twenty degrees between one street and
another.

Mr. B. In what then does its excellence consist ?

Dr. A. It is decidedly the best spring residence in
Italy. The air is much more moist than that of Nice ;
and, at this season, it has the advantage of being less
liable to cold winds; although it must be confessed
that the Tramontana (a sharp northerly wind,) is some-
times felt with considerable severity, but it does not
affect the human body like the dry cold winds of Pro-
yen ce.

Mr. B. The prejudice which exists in my mind
against Rome has arisen from the circumstance of many
of my friends having suffered severely from head-ache,
during their residence there.

Dr. A. Upon that point, I fear my opinion will
rather strengthen than remove your prejudice. I have
no hesitation in stating, that the same complaint has
been frequently made to me; and even Dr. Clark, the
English resident physician, confirms the objection.*

Mr. B. And then come the frightful Malaria.

Dr. A. The stranger has nothing to fear from these
exhalations between October and the middle of May,

* " There is one class of affections for which the Atmosphere of
Rome appeared to me unfavourable. These are head-aches arising
from a ,tendency to a fullness about the head. In many cases
among the English residents, I found persons not previously sub-
ject to head-aches affected with them here, and some already liable
to them had been aggravated. Apoplexy, I was told, was at one
time so frequent at Rome that a day of public fasting was ordered,
and a particular form of prayer addressed to St. Anthony to avert
so dreadful a calamity from the Holy city."

On Climate. 255

after which period I should not recommend any invalid
to protract his visit.

Mr. B. But suppose his object is to remain two
winters at Rome, — where is he to find refuge during
these intervals ?

Dr. A. In the vicinity of Rome there are many spots
which will furnish a very eligible residence during the
hot weather, such are Albano, Frascati, Tivoli, Castel
Gandolfo.

Mr. B. After what you have said, I think it is
scarcely worth \vhile for an invalid to encounter the
fatigues of so long a journey ; but you have not yet
mentioned Florence.

Dr. A. Its climate is almost as changeable as our
own, and far more mischievous, as its Siberian winds
alternate with a temperature equal to that of our finest
days in spring. The summer, however, is delightful,
the heat being greatly tempered by the Apennines.
Bicchierai, an Italian Physician of eminence, used to
say, that he wondered how any body could live at Flo-
rence in the winter, or die there in the summer.

Mr. B. Upon the whole you have presented me
with a very discouraging view of the Italian Climate ;
and I have always understood that Lisbon is intolerable
to an Englishman from its filth.

Dr. A. Lisbon is out of the question : the character
of its climate may be summed up in a few words. Its
winter temperature is neither mild nor equable, and its
spring is remarkable for dense and cold fogs ; and as to
•what an Englishman calls comfort, there is not a city in
the world where it is so systematically neglected.

Mr. B. Suppose I wave the objections to a sea
voyage and set sail for Sicily ?

256 Appendix

Dr. A. In that case you will undoubtedly find a
fine climate, superior in most respects to that of the
Italian continent. The winter and spring seasons are
remarkably mild, provided you select Palermo for your
residence ; Messina is exposed to cold piercing easterly
winds from the mountains of Calabria.

Mr. B. I have heard Catania well spoken of.

Dr. A. Its atmosphere is too sulphureous; in ad-
dition to which every egress from the town is difficult
and unpleasant, owing to the lava from the Volcano.
But there is in my opinion an insuperable objection to
the Sicilian climate from the extreme heat of its sum-
mer, from which the invalid cannot easily escape.

Mr. B. Well then, Malta.

Dr. A. Dr. Domeier, in his account of this climate,
tells us that the thermometer seldom varies in this
island more than 6° in the twenty-four hours, or stand?
below 51°, even in the depth of winter: but then the
summer, which is protracted even to the month of No-
vember, is extremely mischievous from its heat, the
force of which is severely felt in a country where there
is scarcely any visible foliage, the place of hedges being
universally occupied by stone walls.

Mr. B. Let me hear what you have to say with
respect to the other islands which have gained celebrity
for their climates, such as Madeira, the Bermudas,
Jamaica, —

Dr. A. You must be well aware that these places
are, generally speaking, beyond the reach of the ordi-
nary class of English invalids. Madeira has been
greatly extolled by Dr. Adams, who even ventures to
assert that in cases of consumption, if the patient does
not saunter away his time, after his physician has ad-

On Climate. 257

vised him to quit England, we may with certainty pro-
mise him a cure. In the West Indies it is agreed by
all authors, that consumptive affections are almost un-
known, and that scrofula in all its forms is uncommon.

Mr. B. Would you recommend a residence in the
West Indies to a person who has free control over his
movements ?

Dr. A. If we may be allowed to draw any inference
from the qualities of a climate, as indicated by the ther-
mometer, or by its effects on the constitution of the
inhabitants, there can be but little doubt that a resi-
dence in the Bermudas, in a temperate and sheltered
part of Jamaica, or in some other of the West India
Islands, would present every advantage, towards the
recovery of a consumptive patient, that climate alone
can bestow.

Mr. B. I thank you sincerely, my good Sir, for the
patience and candour with which you have discussed the
subject of climate. I am fully sensible of the difficulties
with which it is encompassed, and of the utter impos-
sibility of expecting from medical advice a satisfactory
solution of the many problems which it involves. Every
invalid must, to a certain extent, rely upon his own
judgment; but before I finally decide upon the place
of my destination, allow me to trespass still farther up-
on your patience, in order to learn whether, after all,
there be not some favoured spot ia our own country,
where I might seek shelter from the approaching
season, and which would supersede the necessity of
travelling to a foreign land ?

Dr. A. I should say to a person, who had been,
accustomed to the colder and more exposed parts of our
island, try the effects of some more genial situation ;
R

258 Appendix.

and such a change would be as likely to favour con-
valescence as an emigration to the continent; for al-
though by such a step, he might not obtain an equally
favourable atmosphere, he would more than counter-
balance the difference by ensuring the advantages of
English comforts.

Mr. B. And to what parts of England would you
direct him ?

Dr. A. There are particular spots on the coast of
Hampshire and Sussex which have been long considered
as eligible places of winter residence; such are South-
ampton and Hastings, which are certainly less subject
to the effect of the Northern and Eastern winds than
many parts of our island ; but they are not to be put in
competition with Sidmouth, Davvlish, or Torquay in
Devonshire, and still less with Peuzance in Cornwall,
which, after all, is the only situation which can be
fairly said to possess any very material advantages from
the mildness of its winter. I speak this from well
grounded observation and experience. The Climate of
Penzance is unlike that of any other part of the island.

Mr. B. I remember having received a favourable
impression with respect to the climate of that place,
from the perusal of a small work, entitled, a Guide to
the Mount's Bay and the Land's End ; a copy was lent

me by Sir , and I have since endeavoured to

purchase one, but find that it is out of print.

Dr. A. Are you not aware then that you have been
conversing with its author ? — The book has been for
some time out of print, but a second edition is nearly
ready for publication ; and, with your permission, f
shall introduce, as nearly as my memory will serve,

On Climate. 259

the conversation which we have just held together upon
the subject of Climate.

Mr. B. By all means ; — the questions which I have
submitted for your opinion, are such as must naturally
suggest themselves to every invalid who is in search of
a winter residence, and as your little work, as far as I
recollect, is intended for the same class of persons, its
practical utility will be materially enhanced by the
addition you have just proposed.

APPENDIX.— PART II.

An Account ofthg First Celebration of the
KNILLIAN GAMES at ST. IVES.

Alluded to at page 158 of this work.

WE trust that our readers will find some amusement
and relaxation, after the fatigue of their day's excursion,
in the following Jeu (f Esprit, as originally written by
an eye witness of the festivity ; an institution which,
adds the said writer, will go far to preserve the tone of
the Cornish character, and which can never be neg-
lected while the Cornish men continue to be brave, and
the Cornish women to be virtuous.

The celebration of the Games at Olympia, after the
revolution of every four years, formed the chief date of
time among the Greeks ; and perhaps in future the in-
habitants of the West of England will reckon the years,
as they pass, by the quinquennial return of the games
at St. Ives.

I ought rather to have begun by stating, that John
Knill, Esq. a gentleman formerly of great eminence in
the above mentioned town, has bequeathed the income
of a considerable estate to be distributed by the trustees
in a variety of prizes to those who may excel in racing,
in rowing, and in wrestling. A large sum is to be
divided among a band of virgins, who are to be dressed
all in white, and with four matrons, and a company of
musicians preceding them, are to walk in pairs to the
summit of the hill? which is near the town of St. Ives,

Kniltian Games. 261

where they are to dance and chaunt a hymn round the
far famed mausoleum.

Ten guineas are appointed to be expended in a din-
ner at the grand hotel in the town, of which six of the
principal inhabitants are to partake ; and this festival
is to be repeated every fifth year for ever.

From the earliest periods of history, the Cornish
have been famous for their enthusiastic fondness of the
athletic exercises of hurling, racing, wrestling, and
rowing, and for the pious fervour of the hymns which
the Druids instructed them to sing round the Cromlechs
of the departed brave.

By establishing rewards for superiority in amuse-
ments in which the Cornish still delight to excel, Mr.
Knill has shewn the patriotic feelings of his local at-
tachments ; while by the appropriate selection of the
spot where these pastimes are to take place, he has
given ample proof of the correctness of his taste. The
enormous statue of Jupiter at Elis pointed out that part
of Peloponnesus to the taste of the Greeks, as the most
proper place for the celebration of the Olympic Games;
and a sympathy of feeling and sentiment induced Mr.
Knill to order that the Mausoleum, which he erected
in the year 1782 should be the centre of the quinquen-
nial festivities. This proud pyramid, whose base is situ-
ated on the summit of a rock, and whose apex is
often concealed among the clouds, has hitherto formed
only an object of ornamental magnificence, or a guide to
the tempest tost mariner; but henceforth it will be
regarded as the monument of fame — the pillar of the
west — the Cornish column !

Monday last was the day appointed for the first cele-
bration. I was present at the scene, and am induced

262 Appendix.

to think, from this first specimen, that the rites of the
hill will be celebrated in succeeding years with in-
creased fervour and renewed admiration. Weak as my
powers of description are, your readers may, perhaps,
from the following account, conceive some idea of the
interesting spectacle.

Early in the morning the roads from Helston, from
Truro, and from Penzance, were lined with horses and
vehicles of every description. These were seen amidst
clouds of dust, pouring down the sides of the adjacent
mountains ; while thousands of travellers on foot chose
the more pleasant route through the winding passages
of the vallies. At noon the assembly was formed. The
wrestlers entered the ring ; — the troop of virgins dress-
ed, all in white, advanced with solemn step, which was
regulated by the notes of harmony. The spectators
ranged themselves along the sides of the hills which
inclose the extensive bay, while the pyramid on the
summit seemed pointing to the sun, who appeared in
all the majesty of light, rejoicing at the scene.

At length the Mayor of Saint Ives appeared in his
robes of state. The signal was given. The flags were
displayed in waving splendour from the towers of the
castle. Here the wrestlers exerted their sinewy strength ;
there the rowers, in their various dresses of blue, white,
and red, urged the gilded prows of their boats through
the sparkling waves of the ocean ; while the hills echoed
to the mingled shouts of the victors, the dashing of the
oars, the songs of the virgins, and the repeated plaudits
of the admiring crowd, who stood so thick upon the
crescent, which is formed by the surrounding moun-
tains, as to appear, if I may so express myself, one
living amphitheatre.

Kniliian Games. 263

The ladies aud geutleraen of Penzance returned to an
elegant dinner which they had ordered to be prepared
at the Union Hotel ; and a splendid ball concluded the
entertainment of the evening. The jolly god presided,
— but a reproving smile from Venus restrained him, if
he ventured beyond the due bounds of decorum. Hila-
rity and beauty danced to the most delicious notes of
harmony ; till the rosy finger of Aurora pointed to the
hour at which the quinquennial festivities should close.
Perhaps to many the visions of the night brought back
the joys of the day, and the feet danced, the heart
throbbed, and the cheek glowed, when the eye-lids
were closed in sleep.

A SONG,

Written by one of the Head Poets of London for Mr. KNILL'S
GAMES at Saint Ives.

(To the tune of " Boys and Girls come out to play.")
Sung at the Mausoleum, by a Minstrel adorned with Ribbons.

K MM. commands, and all obey,

Lads and Lasses haste away,

Aunts and Uncles,* Maids and Wives,

All are gay, at gay St. Ives.

No tongue is mute or foot is still,
But One and Att\ are on the hill,
In chorus round the tomb of Knill.

This you surely may rely on,
Paul, Penzance, nor Marazion,
Never saw in all their lives
Such sport as now is at St. Ives.
No tongue, &c.

* Aunts and Uncles. A Cornish epithet indiscriminately applied
to elderly persons.

t One and All is the Cornish motto.

264 dppendi.v.

Some in gigs and coaches flocking,
Some without or shirt or stocking,
All are crowding — not a hack
But has three upon his back.
No tongue, &c.

Of Virgins pure — (let envy squint,
And malice sneer, there's nothing in't)
Of Virgins pure a throng advance,
And round the tomb in circles dance.
No tongue, &c.

BOYS on gingerbread are feeding,
Cudgel-broken pates are bleeding ;
Races running, Wrestlers falling,
Bones are cracking, women squalling.
No tongue, &c.

Thro' the breaking wave below,
Rowers urge the bounding prow ;
While many a Tub and many a Ray £
Sport around in finny play.
No tongue, &c.

All are running — what's the matter.5
Why, to see the fine Regatta.
Earth and water, hill and bay,
Share the frolic of the day.
No tongue, &c.

Oh ! it glads the heart to see e'm
Gamble round the Mausoleum.
All is joy : and laughter shakes
All the merry land of Hakes.+
No tongue, &c.

J Common fish at St. Ives.
t St. Ives abounds with a fish called a Hake.

Knillian Games. 265

What a pother ! what a deal is
Talk'd about the games at Elis :
Such as they — no not a million
Equal what we call the Knillian.
No tongue, &c.

Knill commands, and all obey,

Lads and lasses haste away,

All the world and all his wives.

"What was Greece to gay St. Ives ! !
No tongue is mute, no foot is still,
But One and All are on the hill
In chorus round the tomb of Knill.

An appropriate Chorus to be sung round the Tomb by the
Virgins.

Quit the bustle of the Bay,
Hasten, Virgins, come away ;
Hasten to the mountain's brow,
Leave, oh ! leave St. Ives below !
Haste to breathe a purer air
Virgins fair, and pure as fair.
Quit St. Ives and all her treasures,
Fly her soft voluptuous pleasures,
Fly her sons and all the wiles,
Lurking in their wanton smiles;
Fly her splendid midnight halls,
Fly the revels of her Balls ;
Fly, oh ! fly the chosen seat,
Where vanity and fashion meet.
Hither hasten; form the ring,
Round the tomb in chorus sing,
And on the lofty mountain's brow

Aptly dite,

(Just as we should be, all in white)
Leave all our Cowels,* and our cares below.

* See the explanation of this term at page 34.

266 Appendix.

A CORNISH DIALOGUE

Between GRACE PENVEAR and MARY TREVISKEY.

GREACEY.

Path and Trath than ! I bleeve in ten Parishes round
Sichey Roag, sichey Vellan es nat to ba found.

MALLY.
Wheats' tha' fussing, Un Greacey ! long wetha Cheel Vean ?

GREACEY.

A fussing a ketlia ! oads splet 'es ould breane !
Our Martn's cum'd hum cheeld so drunk as a beast,
And so cross as the Gallish from Perran-zan feaast :
A cum'd in a tottering, cussing, and sweering
So hard as a Stompses, and tarving and leering !

MALLY.

Naver meynd et un Greacey, goa, poat en to bed
AI sleep ale tha lecker aweay froam es head.

GREACEY.

I'd nat goa a neest en to fang tha Kings Crown,
For a sweers ef I speek to'an al cleev ma skuel down :
Tha navar en ale tha boarn daeys, fath and shoar,
Dedst behould sichey Maze-gerry Pattick a foar.

(Fuss) [a low cant word] a tumult, a bustle. Swift.
(Un) Aunt — a title usually given to an elderly woman.
(Vean) Cornish for little] Cheel Vean— little Child.
(Tarving) [a cant word] struggling, convulsions, Tarvings.
(Fang) [Saxon] to gripe, receive, &c. Shakespear.
(Maze-gerry Pattick) a mad brutish or frolicsome fool.

Cornish Dialogue. 267

Why, a scat ale to Midjans and Jowds for the nouns,
A clom Buzza of scale melk about on tha scoans.
And a raak'd up a showl for to steeve ma1 outright,
But I'm run'd awaey, readdy to feyntey for freyt !
Loard ! tell ma un Mally ! whaat shall Ey do by 'an ?
For Zoundtikins Deth ! Ey Y.i a fear'd to cum uy'aii.

MALLY.

I know wheat Ey'd gee'an ef so bee 'twor my case,
Ey'd scat tha ould Chacks aa'n ; Ey'd trcm 'an un Greace.

GREACEY.

Ey'm afeard o'my leyf to coam ny tha ould Vellan,
Else pleas faather ! Ey bleeve Ey shu'd murely kill 'an.
Wor ever poor creychar so baal'd and aboos'd,
Ma heep here leyke bazzom, tha Roag have a bruis'd.
Ey mad for 'es sopar a Muggety Pye,
But a shaan't clunk a croom a'te Ey wish Ey meay die !

MALLY.

Aye ! Ey tould tha afore that tha jobb wor a done,
That tha'd'st find out tha odds 'ate, so shoor as a gun ;
But tha' wouds'nt hark to ma for doubting, for why
That beshoor, that tha knowd'st 'en mooch better than Ey ;
But Ey knaw'd tha good trem 'ane befour tha's't a got 'en ;
Ey cou'd tell tha a mashes of stoareys about en ;
But tha' aanserds't soa heytish and shrinkt up tha noaz :
'A gissing 'twor greeat stromming leys Ey sopoaz !
But there's one of es praenks Ey shall alcweays remembar
'Twill be three years agone coam tha eighth of Novembar,

(Midjans and Jouds) shreds and tatters.

(Noans) [Nonce] on purpose.

(Clom Buzza) a coarse earthen pot.

(Scoans) the pavement. (Showl) a shovel. (Steeve) stave.
, (Scat) to give a blow, to break. (Chacks) cheeks.

(Murely) almost. (Baal'd) mischievously beaten.

(Bazzom) of a blue or purple colour.

(Muggety Pye) a pye made of shteps guts, .parsley and cream,
pepper and salt. (Clunk) swallow. (Croom) crumb,

(Mashes) a great many, number, &c.

268 Appendix.

Ey'd two pretty young Mabjers as eyes cu'd behould,
So fat as tha Botar ; jest iteen wiks ould,
Tha wor picking about in tha Tewn plaace for meat,
Soa Ey hov downe sum Pillas amongst mun to eat :
When who but your man comd a tott'ring along
Soa drunk, that Ey thoft fath, ad fale in tha dung !
'A left tomble 'cs Hoggan-bag jest by tha doar.
Soa I caled to tha man as one wud to be shoor,
Sez Ey, Martyn ! dust hire Cheeld ! teak up tha bag,
" Arrea" sez a, " for whoat beest a caleing me Dog ?"
And dreev'd forth toweards ma, nar bettar nar wuss
Nack'd the Mabjers boath steff, we a gaert mawr o' fuss 5
Ley'k enow ef Ey hadnt shov'd haastis awaey
A'd a done as a ded to Jaji Rous t'oather daey,
When a gote en eis tantrums, a wilfull ould Devel,
A slam'd tha poor Soal on tha head we a Yevel ;
Fath and Soal than un Gracey ef so bee a doent aeller
Ey bleev e ma conshance el swing en a haelter.

GREACEY.

When tha Leker es runn'd awaey every drap
'Tis too late to ba thenking of plugging the Tap,
And marridge must goa as the Loard do ordean,
But a Passon wud swear to ba used so Cheeld Vean.
Had Ey smilt out tha coose 'ane but neyne weeks ago
Ey'd never a had tha ould Vellan Ey know,

(Mabjers) Mab Hens — young fowls two-thirds grown.

(Pillas) [Pilez — Cornish] the avena nuda or naked oats of Ray;
bald, bare or naked oats without husks.

(Hoggan) Hogan in Cornish British signifies a Hawthorn berry;
also any thing mean or vile ; but here it means a Pork pasty ; and
now indeed a Tinner's Pasty is called a Jloggan.

(Arrea) Arria [vulg. for Ria] O strange.

(Gaert) great, '• gaert mawr o Fuss," great root of Furze.

(Haestis) hastily. (Yevil) a Dung fork with three prongs.

(Passon) Parson. (Coose) course or way of him.

(Neyne weeks) — as though they had been married but nine
weeks, whereas in the third line, she is addressed by Un Mally as

Cornish Dialogue. 269

But a vowd and a swcar'd that if Ey'd by hes weyf
That Ey naver shud lack ale tha daeys o' ma leyf ;
And a broft me a Nakin and Corn saave from Preen ;
En ma conshance thoft Ey, Ey shall leve leyk a Queen.
But 'tes plaguey provoking, od rat es ould head !
To be pooled and flopt soa ! Ey wish a war dead.
Why a spent haafe es fangings laast Saterday neyt,
Leyk enow by thisteym 'tes gone every dyte.
But Ey'll tame tha ould Devel, afor et es long,
Ef Ey caant we ma Viestes — Ey will we ma Tongue.

' long wetha Cheeld vean.' This will be readily explained by
noticing a custom very prevalent among the lower ranks of the
county, as will appear by the following anecdote. A friend of mins
who was one year an officer in one of the mining parishes, told me
that of fifty-five couples married during that year, it was manifest
by the appearance of fifty of the ladies, (hat they ought to have
been married several moons before. A young man, to the honor
of the county be it said, (even if the practice be to its disparage-
ment) needs no compulsion to marry his lass when in this condition.

(Nackin) Handkerchief. (Preen) Penryn. (Pooled) kicked.

(Fangings) gettings or wages. (Viestes) Fists.

270 Appendix. Cam Breh — an Ode.

CARN BREH,t

AN ODE HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED,

By Dr. WALCOT,

BETTER KXO'.VN BY THE POETICAL APPELLATION OF

PETER PINDAR.*

\Vhile nature slumbers in the shade.

And Cynthia, cloth'd in paly light,
"Walks her lone way, the mount 1 tread,

Majestic mid the gloom of night.
With reverence to the lofty hill 1 bow,
Where Wisdom, Virtue, taught their founts to flow.

Wan, on yon rocks' aspiring steep
Behold a Druid form, forlorn !
I see the white rob'd phantom weep —

I hear to heaven his wild harp mourn.
The temples open'd to the vulgar eye ;
And Oaks departed, wake his inmost sigh.

+ For a description of this hill see page 208.

* Dr. Walcot was apprenticed to his uncle, who \va» ;>u
apothecary at Fowey in Cornwall, and after having practised for
some years in the West Indies, he settled as a Physician at Truro :
after residing there for some time, he suddenly quitted tlio county,
in consequence of a law suit in which he was engaged against the
Corporation of Truro; the dispute related to the right of their
putting upon him a parish apprentice ; when he sold his effects,
shut up his house, and informed the officers that if they were de-
termined to carry their point, tlipy might put the apprentice into
the empty building, as he should never enter it again.

Appendix. Cam Bre/i — an Ode. 271

O ! lover of the twilight hour,

That calls thee from the tombs of death,
To haunt the cave, the time-struck tower,

The sea-girt cliff, the stormy heath ;
Sweet is thy minstrelsy to him whose lays
First sung this hallow' d hill of ancient days.

Yet not this Druid-scene alone

Inspires the gloom-delighted muse ;
Ah ! many a hill to fame unknown,

With awe the tuneful wanderer views ;
And »ft while midnight lends her list'uing ear,
Sings darkling, to the solitary sphere.

Poor Ghost ! no more the Druid band

Shall watch, Devotion-wrapt, their fire,
No more, high sounding thro' the land,

To Virtue strike the plauding lyre.
The snake along the frowning fragment creeps,
And fox obscene beneath the shadow sleeps.

No more beneath the golden hook

The treasures of the grove shall fall ;
Time triumphs o'er each vanish'd oak —

The power whose might shall crush this ball —
Yet, yet, till Nature droops the head to die
Compassion grant each monument a sigh.

The bards, in lays sublime, no more

The warrior's glorious deeds relate ;
Whose patriot arm a thunder bore,

That hurl'd his country's foe to fate :
Lo ! mute the harp near each pale Druid hung,
Mute, like the voice that once accordant sung.

272 Appendix. Cam Bre/i — an Ode.

Save when the wandering breeze of morn,

Or eve's wild gale with wanton wing,
To hear the note of sorrow mourn,

Steals to the silent sleeping string,
And wildly brushing, wakes with sweetest swell,
The plaintive trembling spirit of the shell.

Here Virtue's awful voice was heard,

That pour'd the instructive truth profound,
Here Cornwall's sons that voice rever'd,

Where sullen silence sleeps around.
See where she sung, sad, melancholy, tread,
A pensive pilgrim o'er th' unconscious dead.

She calls on AldsPs, Odred's name,

Sons to the darken'd world of yore !
Lur'd by whose eagle-pinion'd fame,
The stranger left his native shore,
Daring, his white sail to the winds he gave,
And sought fair knowledge o'er the distant wave.

Tho' few these awful rocks revere,

And temples that deserted lie,
The muse shall ask the tenderest tear

That ever dropt from Pity's eye,
T' embalm the ruins that her sighs deplore,
Where Wisdom, Virtue dwelt, but dwell no more.

London : printed by William Phillips,
George Yard, Lombard Street.

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